Playing the Violin

"Playing the Violin" is designed as a textbook for music education students in String Pedagogy courses. Elementary and secondary level music teachers are all involved with leading orchestras, and thus have to be conversant with basic techniques on a number of instruments, most notably the violin. Yet few understand the importance of "setup" for establishing proper technique. "Setup" refers to the basic physical elements of violin playing: How to hold the violin and bow; posture and position; movements left and right; and so forth. These are the fundamental components necessary for success. The earlier these concepts are established, the better. Unfortunately, many students reach the university level with bad habits and poor technique, and need to be re-educated about how to perform-and teach-proper violin technique. While there are other violin pedagogy books on the market, most are very dense with text and give little step-by-step information. They are often aimed at advanced performers, rather than beginners or teachers charged with helping beginning players. "Playing the Violin" takes students and teachers step-by-step through the basics, with an equal emphasis on clear, easy-to-understand photographs as with the text itself. The author assumes no previous knowledge about violin playing. For this reason, the book should appeal not only to violinists and their teachers but to all educators faced with the task of helping string players perform to their maximum potential. "Playing the Violin" promises to set a new standard for string technique courses. It will appeal to college and university students but also will be useful for independent violin teachers and those learning"on their own."