Investigation of Kinesthetics in Violin Playing

Abstract

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to produce tones with any musical instrument without moving those parts of the human body which are involved in playing such an instrument. These movements are dependent on the possibilities of movement of the parts concerned and the structural and physical properties of the instrument. Every performer has to make his own choice from these possibilities and properties in order to realize his performance of a composition. Even the most delicate nuances of a performance can only be brought to realization by means of movements. Hence the teaching of the movements that produce musical expression on various instruments belongs among the most important subjects of the curriculum. The movements concerned are subject to certain norms which can be found by the application of data from kinesiology, i.e. the study of the movements of the human body. BY means of this application we can avoid letting our pupils become accustomed to movements which might do harm to their limbs and to their possibilities of movement. Movements are the means of musical expression on any musical instrument. For a teacher} these movements are only visually observable. Investigations with beginners are of the greatest importance as the results of teaching beginners are the fundamentals for any further development. Every student begins from the same point: a complete lack of violinistic knowledge and skill.