One of the most important things to remember before you start to play the violin, is to make sure that the posture of your body is correct.

If you slouch or slump your body, you won’t be able to move freely and in a balanced way, and your playing movements will be inhibited.

Inevitably, this will cause problems with your sound production, and you won’t be able to keep a nice, consistent sound whilst you play.

We’ve put together a ‘body checklist’ to remind you of exactly how to position your body before you start to play.

Each time you pick up the violin, make time to check through your body posture, to be sure that:

Your Feet
... are grounded, and roughly in line with the shoulders

Your Knees
... are unlocked, nice and free, and not too bent!

Your Legs
... are balanced, with equal weight across both legs

The CORE of your body
... is centered, and the spine isn’t stretched or slumped

Your Shoulders
... are released, broad, and *definitely* not hunched!

Your Neck
... is straight and not twisted

...and Your Head
... is balanced, and you’re facing straight ahead.

Make a point of remembering to check each part of the body when you’re about to play. Do this every time, and before long it will become automatic and instinctive.

Eventually, you can stop checking the position of each individual body part, but you’ll always want to make sure that the overall posture of your body is balanced, whenever you’re about to play.

This lesson will be available soon.

Now, follow along with these actions, to get your violin into playing position!

Start by picking up the violin... 
Hold the top of the body with your left hand, and the bottom with your right hand.

Feet Apart: 
Hold the violin out in front of you with both hands.

Stop the Traffic: 
Stretch the violin forward with left hand only, as if a policeman is stopping the traffic!

On your Collar Bone: 
Feel for your collar bone with your right hand and bring the violin up to rest on it.

Drop Your Chin: 
Drop your head slightly onto the chin rest.
Right Thumb In The Air: 
Point your right arm in the air.
Shooting Star: 
Bring the thumb down to the corner of the fingerboard and wave your fingers freely.

I Can Play The Violin: 
Then pluck the strings ... A A A A D D D ssh! A A A A D D D ssh!