Lift Up Thine Fiddle

If you’re a violinist, I suppose the next best thing to lifting up thine eyes to the heavens would be lifting up thine fiddle to the heavens.

Only thing is, I would ask you to do it with your left hand and not your shoulder, or chin.

You see, there is still a little resistance to getting that chin off the chinrest out there. Before I make my case a little stronger, take a look at what a fellow subscriber had to say in an email to me yesterday.

“I was taught to rest the viola on the shoulder, then lay the head onto the chin rest. The weight of the head holds the instrument in place. No shoulder scrunching involved. Seems the same for violin, no? Viola technique pretty much = violin technique, no?

As long as the left shoulder isn’t being raised, and it’s comfortable, what’s the detriment of letting the weight of the head hold the instrument in place?”

-Craig

On the surface this seems pretty reasonable. But there are a few things you might want to consider.

A), if the head is always ‘resting’ on the chinrest there is a certain lack of freedom. A few hours ago I confirmed this while watching the video of my recent Mendelssohn performance – I will have to put it on the site so you can see it for yourself. My head is OFTEN not on the chinrest, even in the most technical passages. As a result one gets the impression my head and neck are ‘Loose as a Goose’, pretty much throughout.

B), I want the instrument’s weight IN MY HAND, just as the weight of one receiving a full-emersion baptism is in the arms of the minister (don’t mean to get sectarian here, I just like the analogy). There is a kind of surrender that must take place.

C), when you are supporting the instrument with the left hand, and fingering right into that hand, you are going to develop a strong, balanced, and flexible hand.

Now, at first there IS some trepidation at ‘letting go’ in this way. But the benefits can be extraordinary, if you persist! You WILL be more relaxed, solid, and confident come performance time.

I’m not saying the violin can’t be played by doing otherwise. It can.

I just think one who is able to do what I’m talking about brings a little something extra to the table.

Just occurred to me that YoYo Ma brings a similar strategy to the cello. Consequently we are astounded at the abandon with which he plays.

I recommend taking a few days, resolving to keep your chin off the instrument, and seeing what HAS TO happen in your left side. My bet is you will learn more in those few days about playing than you have learned in the last few years. Well, that’s IF you’ve had more than a few years of playing to from which to measure.

If not, you still may cut a few years off the time most people require to ‘get really good’ at this sport.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. Promise I’ll stop writing on this subject now. I can’t promise to stop talking about Kreutzer for Violin Mastery, however. It’s the best instructional tool you can add to your library.