Anonymous A. answered • 02/07/25
Recording and touring concert artist. Experience teaching all levels.
Absolutely! Many violinists injure their neck, shoulder, or jaw because they don’t have a clear system of anchors. Instead they squeeze the instrument between the shoulder and jaw (or chin). My 10-minute daily warm-up is effective and creative. It increases awareness of the anchor points: left hand (between thumb and base of index finger), jaw/chin, and shoulder (or collarbone, depending on your apparatus and way of holding the violin).
For violinists who suffer from TMD (TMJ Dysfunction that results in jaw pain), I recommend starting the daily practice with a strap which allows for shifting and vibrato without using the jaw at all. This increases awareness, and after removing the strap, the daily warm-up system I teach reveals how little the jaw is needed in violin playing. Violinists learn to use the jaw lightly and intentionally, only when needed. I use three types of strap, and each is a little different—two of them put some weight on the back of the neck and the third strap goes under the right arm, bypassing the neck altogether. No strap is perfect, but each of them helps the violinist to implement a better way of playing.
Many violinists don’t need the strap at all, and instead are able to learn how to include the left hand as one of the three anchor points utilizing some exercises. Try this, for example: Rest your left elbow on a table while holding the violin in playing position. You might need to stack some books on the table to get the height where you need it. Now, without the bow just shift up and down repeatedly, from first position to third position, for example. You’ll see that the scroll (pegbox) goes up a little when you shift up, and down a little when you shift down. This is the first step to getting away from the neck/jaw “squeeze.” There are additional benefits, artistic benefits, in addition to making the violin playing more comfortable. By learning to involve the left hand and thumb, more types of vibrato become possible. Also, third position becomes a destination point, by learning to lightly “knock” the base of the thumb when you arrive at third position.
Similarly, there are techniques of bowing that increase comfort and control, improving the tone and making a more varied palette of articulation. I never suggest completely changing a bow hold unless the one you’re using just isn’t working for you. Instead, I work within the mechanical approach that you already play, suggesting minor adjustments that lead to artistic transformation.
