A blog dedicated to the struggles of the road to becoming a violinist. Anyone (complete beginners to professionals) with the drive to learn and share their experiences, issues, and successes are welcome!
Is it hard for you to reach a specific string with ease? Well, why not try to swing your arm to reach a specific string? Lets work with the left arm, so put down that bow and get into playing position!
Notice: When I say practice, I don’t mean practice it 3 times and move on. Like literally PRACTICE it until you want to punch someone. You need to get rid of your old habits to the point where you don’t remember how to do it wrong.
What do I need?
A violin
A mirror (you can find these in a bathroom)
Okay, so how do I do it?
Start off by placing your violin on your shoulder in playing position. Now, lightly PLACE your thumb on the side of the neck like you normally would if going to play a scale or something. In fact, rest your fingers on a string, lets use the A string. This means, position your fingers on the B, C#, D, and E. If you do not know where these notes are yet, or just don’t want to do that for some reason, then just rest your fingers on the A string while NOT pushing them down. Regardless, these fingers need to be perpendicular to the string. Like literally the tips of your fingers need to be over the string perpendicularly (it may be an exaggeration, but it will help). The position is more important than the notes right now.
Now look at yourself in the mirror. Pay close attention to your WRIST. If you are “squashing the strawberry” (which means the palm of your hand is collapsed onto the neck of the violin), shame on you! That wrist needs to be almost straight! (Below is what you call “squishing the strawberry”)
No drastic bends in it at all (forward or backward)! (below is bending too far backward)
So how do you fix this? Take your right hand and peel that palm away from the neck, pushing it toward the mirror away from you. Or just simply straighten your left wrist to the point where it is straight with the rest of your arm.
Above is what your wrist should kind of look like.
**If you’re worried about the word ‘straight’, take your left hand off of the neck (in fact just put your violin down so you won’t drop it) and lay your arm (elbow to finger tips) on a flat surface, like a table, and make sure your wrist is resting naturally on the table along with your fingers (your palm is facind town toward the table). Now, treat this section of your arm as ONE unit, meaning you move this entire section without bending anything (so don’t bend your wrist at all, it’s locked in place) and using your elbow, raise your arm up so your fingers point to the ceiling, or sky. Your palm should be facing away from you at this point, so you need to rotate your entire arm so it faces you while STILL NOT BENDING ANYTHING. Look at your wrist. This is basically what you’re looking for in your wrist when you are swinging your arm at the VERY LEAST. This is the “straight” you probably want. If anything, your entire arm should be moving as a unit, not two separate ones.
Do this a couple of times so you can get used to moving your arm as a unit instead of using your wrist to do everything. Once you feel like you got this, apply it to your violin by mimicking your straight wrist position you just practiced while also resting your fingers on the A string and the thumb on the side of the neck like I told you above ( you may have a slightly small bend in your wrist, which is fine due to you having to still put your fingers on the string, if that makes sense). Practice this a few times on the A string before you practice the swing.(By the way, when I say “a few”, I mean until you want to drop kick someone)**
Once you got that slight straightness and are comfortable with it, make sure you are relaxed. Fingers, thumb (which shouldn’t be chocking your violin aka, no tension), shoulder, ect. With all of this in place, lift all of your fingers slightly (at once) so that they are hovering over the A string slightly (there should be a small space between your fingers and the string) and start to slowly swing your elbow forward and backward, using your loose thumb as an anchor to guide the motion. Swing all the way toward the G string, then swing all the way to the E string. Get used to this unit movement and be mindful of your wrist, and the tension that may creep into your thumb. By now, you should notice that it seems much easier to reach that foreboding G string. Once you’ve done this slowly, speed it up until you can swing that elbow in your sleep.
After you practice that sassy swing, it’s time to get those fingers over each string. With that loose thumb and your fingers now hovering over the A string again, slightly swing your elbow away from you to reach the D string. Remember to keep that arm moving as a unit and that wrist straight. Look in the mirror. This position should look similar to the A string position, fingers hovering over the D string at a perpendicular angle. Do this for the G now. swing your elbow a little more away from you, keeping that arm unit and not bending your wrist during this motion.
This may feel like your elbow is out too far, but as long as your finger can reach the G string, perpendicularly, you’re fine. Don’t over shoot these movements though, because the A and D string are close to each other, D and G, ect.
The above is the G string. This is what it looks like for me. (Sorry my fingers aren’t hovering). If you can see, my wrist is slightly curved due to my fingers being over the string.
The above is what my arm looks like in this position.
Now to go backward! You’re literally doing the same thing, but the opposite direction. Your elbow should start to move back toward you. Slightly move your arm as a unit back over the D, the A, and finally to that E string. It may feel like your elbow is to far behind you, but, like the G, it’s fine as long as you don’t over shoot to the point where your fingers are on the other side of the finger board, if you know what I mean.
Below is the E string (not hovering in the picture). You can’t see my wrist well, but it’s straight: Trust.)
Notice below that my arm on the E string is swung far back. That’s normal because it helps me get my fingers directly over the string.
Once you’ve practiced these movements slowly in order to be aware of your movements and tensions, speed it up! Get it faster! You’re going to need to be able to put your arm in these positions without thinking, so do these a lot so when you play that scale or piece, you can move from the D to the A without worrying about your wrist squishing that strawberry, and maybe even your thumb not squeezing the neck, which it isn’t supposed to be doing anyway.
To sum it all up:
Make sure your wrist is nearly straight. (The G string will have a slight curve, at least for me)
Make sure you can move your wrist and arm as a unit, that wrist joint is locked so it can move with the rest of the arm
Keep that thumb loose and flexible on the side of the next
Make sure that your fingers are directly OVER the string, like perpendicular to it
Using your thumb as an anchor, swing your arm back and forward (toward and away from you)
Now, be mindful of your strings and go string by string, adjusting your elbow to hover over each one, keeping that arm as a unit
Speed it up!
Practice the steps above int he explanation until you want to beat someone up
So I hope this helps you reach strings easier! If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask! :) If you found something incorrect, let me know as well! I don’t want to give out wrong info!
If you want to check out the simple version of this post, click here (Coming soon)!
I am looking to make more violin-playing friends. Ages, skill-levels and the like do not matter. They say that time as well as music can heal a lot of things. I really need some of that right now. I do not want what is going on right now to make me resent my love of music or my desire to pick up my violin. I just want to have a support system and to other and give that support back. School is hard, relationships are hard, life is hard… at least we can have something that links us together. I want to learn to love my violin, to love playing, regardless of what happens or who hurts me. I don’t want to give anyone the power or the ability to ever take that away from me.
I have two cousins living in Las Vegas and they are so talented. They are excellent swimmers. One plays the violin. The other plays the piano. Both are magnificent orators. One does ballet. Both are doing tremendously well in academics. They are siblings. The oldest is 6 years old. I can’t remember the age of her younger sibling. And I am so proud of both of them. I really am. But I have this feeling inside of me that makes me grow sad and that feeling is envy, I believe. These cousins of mine are living the childhood I wanted. And I question my existence and my abilities.
I’ve been learning violin recently and I’m thinking that I might record some of the pieces I’ve been practicing and put them up on tumblr, if for no other reason than to also practice receiving criticism.
I have two cousins living in Las Vegas and they are so talented. They are excellent swimmers. One plays the violin. The other plays the piano. Both are magnificent orators. One does ballet. Both are doing tremendously well in academics. They are siblings. The oldest is 6 years old. I can’t remember the age of her younger sibling. And I am so proud of both of them. I really am. But I have this feeling inside of me that makes me grow sad and that feeling is envy, I believe. These cousins of mine are living the childhood I wanted. And I question my existence and my abilities.
Having trouble reaching that evasive G string? That E string super hard to play on? Well why not use your left arm and swing it either toward you or away from you in order to get to those pesky strings?
Use your thumb as an anchoring point for your arm to swing on by putting your violin in playing position and putting your left arm up on the finger board as if you are going to play a scale. Make sure your thumb is loosely touching the neck. Make sure your fingers are also directly over the string you are starting on (hovering for now). Your wrist should be straight in relation to the rest of your left arm. While not bending your wrist but moving it as a unit with the rest of the arm, swing your entire arm slightly in the direction of the desired string. Repeat going from one string to the other and back while moving your arm and wrist as a unit at the same time. This should get your fingers over the pesky strings and make it easier for you to reach them!
If you want a more explanatory explanation, click here (Coming soon)!
If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask!
