Now that you have read Part 1 and Part 2, we are closing the loop with this post on Part 3 of why violins are so difficult for adults learners. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, the main reason is that playing the violin involves a lot of muscles. Surprisingly, not many people have talked about it. In this post, I am going to talk about muscle involvements on both left and right hands.
In 2016, when I started learning the violin, I had a death grip on the neck of my violin. My teacher had to use different strategies in helping me get rid of that habit. She also recommended me to practice only 20 to 30 minutes during the first 6 months. Let me explain why.
The left hand
As a beginner, my left hand tendons were never been used so much; this is why I only practiced 20 to 30 minutes at the beginning. After the practice, I felt some soreness on my tendons usually the ones associated with the second and third fingers. Also the muscles between the thumb and index finger were sore. I contacted my teacher to ask about this soreness; she told me to stop practicing for the day. The next morning, my left hand was not as sore and I could practice again.
When we play the violin, the left hand and fingers are moving on the fingerboard. The thumb is an anchor on the neck. While holding and playing the violin with our left hands, we use both hand muscles and tendons. I have heard many adult beginners develop tendonitis because they did not realize that they overuse their tendons.
The right hand
We hold the bow with our right hand. My teacher started my first few lessons with bow hold and finger exercises, which you can try in this video. For many adult learners, they might think that their fingers are strong enough. Some might have strong hands but not fingers. Not only we need to have strong fingers, the fingers also need to be flexible. We use a lot of tendons in the bow hold as well. Especially the pinky finger, it needs to be able to hold at least 60 g for violin bows.
This is one of the most difficult parts of learning the violin. Controlling the bow is the ultimate test for fiddle players. We can create colorful melodies and songs by controlling the weight of the bow.
Concluding thoughts
We have covered a lot of muscles and tendons on our arms in playing the violin. Be sure to take care and listen to your body. Happy practicing.