Specialist assistance and advice for students and professionals:
Next to regular violin lessons I provide specialist sessions to address physical problems with violin playing such as: muscle blockages; cramped playing technique; painful neck, shoulder and arm muscles; injuries; discomfort with violin or bow hold etc. All sessions are 100% confidential. Lessons are given in-person or via Zoom.
Problems due to incorrect muscle tension can happen to the best of violin players over time due to long hours of practice and busy concert schedules. Some muscles get fatigued and other muscles will try to compensate. If this is maintained for a longer period it can form into a habit which is not noticeable in the beginning but can lead to problems in the long run. I have helped many violin students over the years as well as orchestra members and international soloists to make adjustments to alleviate problems.
The assessment will be a valuable step in determining your potential for success. It’s an opportunity for both of us to evaluate the problems in a supportive environment. Everybody is different and my personal approach gives you the best chances of success. It gives me great satisfaction to help you overcome your violin issues. The position of the violin and the bow hold are the basis of good playing technique. However, when playing with a slightly off-position some of your neck, shoulder and arm muscles are overworked with too much tension. In the longer term this could result in physical difficulties such as: muscle blockages; cramped playing technique; cramped neck, shoulder and arm muscles; pain; injuries; and discomfort. Sometimes muscle tension can be caused by an ill fitting chin or shoulder rest or an incorrect posture during performance.
What Will Be Assessed
During the assessment, I will focus on several key aspects to assess your violin technique and overall posture. The goal is to create a comfortable and relaxed violin hold, while evaluating the potential to play without tension. The assessment will include:
- Physical : How is your technique during playing, such as hand coordination, and a sense of posture and balance? Are there any blockages due to incorrect tension? How is your head, jaw and neck position; shoulder position left and right; bow arm and left arm; position of back, legs and feet? We will explore whether improvements can be made.
- Attention and Focus: Where do you place your focus during difficult passages? It will help gauge how your muscle awareness pays a role. Practice of the basics with attention.
- Fine Motor Skills: In which way are your fine motor skills affected? We will make changes to offer solutions.
- Equipment: is there maybe a problem with the chin or shoulder rest? We will explore whether improvements can be made.
- Violin and bow hold: slight adjustments can sometimes make a big difference and we will explore which options are available to you.
Follow up sessions
Sometimes more than one session is required to tackle difficult problems or it can just be nice to receive independent feedback to make sure you are on the right track or if further adjustments need to be made. During the follow up sessions you will be able to ask more questions and receive valuable feedback regarding your progress.
Next Step
If you are ready to improve your playing comfort, contact Michael to join the waiting list for a private SOS session.
