Why I Hang on My Violin

I am sure you would agree with me when I say, the players you most enjoy listening to sound uncompromisingly ‘at home’ on the violin. They seem to inhabit the violin.

Well, I have news for you. I believe we all have the capability of experiencing and projecting this; of internalizing the process of playing in a way that allows our expressive potential uncompromised freedom.

Now there are a couple of things that are critical to this, and one of them is the complete relaxation of the shoulders while playing.

I’ve seen many a player in my time that look as though they have a band of non-permeable rock running from shoulder to shoulder while they play. And as a result their playing comes off forced, stiff, and generally lacking in real substance.

One of the great keys to ‘tearing down that wall’, as Ronald Reagan might have put it, is breathing.

And the RIGHT kind of breathing. Of course this is something I’ve written of many times so I won’t go into it here.

Once you’re breathing properly you’re experiencing the natural tendency of the shoulders to relax DOWN as you draw in breath; something so very different from the experience of many people.

The thing to remember, as you feel this however, is to allow the weight of the arms to follow the shoulder’s lead.

On the right side this is what leads to the natural weight of the arm transferring onto the strings via the bow, giving depth and ‘body’ to the tone you produce.

On the left side the relaxation of the shoulders frees up the arm – yes, I realize certain muscles are yet engaged to support the violin, we’re not going to let the violin slide to the floor – allowing greater freedom of movement and increased lightness and sensitivity in the fingers.

So once you’re shoulders are relaxed the sensation of hanging on the violin begins to make real sense. On the left side it’s just the very light mass of each finger hanging on the strings; on the right side the full weight of the arm.

Now bear in mind that once you’ve loosed the weight of the right arm on the string, the game becomes all about the active management of the horizontal travel of the bow; the seamless folding and unfolding of wrist joint, elbow joint and shoulder joint, transforming arm weight into tone.

Yet that will take us into a different story, one better left for another day.

In any case, I sure recommend taking a few minutes at the beginning of your practice session to get into this feeling as you play – some slow scales and arpeggios are perfect for it.

Remember, breathing is key. And what good news that is.

All the best, Clayton Haslop

P.S. In my Beginners Circle program, for new players to the instrument, and Allegro Players program, for more intermediate level learners, this approach to violin playing is integrated into every lesson.