Violin technique
Playing the violin entails holding the instrument between the jaw and the collar bone. The strings are sounded either by drawing the bow across them, or by plucking them. The left hand regulates the sounding length of the strings by stopping them against the fingerboard with the fingers, producing different pitches.
Posture
It is possible to play the violin holding it in a variety of ways. Most players hold the lower bout of the instrument between the left shoulder and the jaw, often assisted by a semi-permanently attached chinrest and detachable shoulder rest. If held properly under the chin, the violinist can let go of the instrument with their hands and it will stay there firmly. Other common ways to hold the instrument include the seated Carnatic attitude, with the scroll resting on a foot, or the dancing-master's "kit" or "pochette" hold, along the forearm, by the lower margin of the rib cage, even though these are not widely traditional holds. Historically, the baroque violin may have been frequently held without the chin and is often held this way by performers of historical music today. In Morocco the violin is often held completely upright resting on the seated player's thigh with the left hand stabilizing the balance while fingering.The chin rest and shoulder rest accessories come in a great variety of styles and shapes, so each individual may find the combination that best suits their build and playing style. The search for the ideal combination can be a lengthy one in some cases. Whatever the equipment, the player will usually aim to maintain a balanced, natural, and comfortable attitude, with the spine straight, especially the neck. Many violinists have a reddish mark on the neck, the so-called "violin hickey" from long-term pressure at that spot. The spot may be aggravated by an allergic reaction to nickel plating on the chinrest clamp hardware, or by microbial pathogens present on the instrument.
Keeping the left wrist relaxed and nearly "straight" allows freedom of finger motion, and reduces the chance of repetitive strain injury. Collapsing the wrist to "support" the violin with the heel of the hand is an unfortunate habit that many novice players fall into, and may take years of constant vigilance to overcome. The left forearm will be rather extremely supinated, and the left elbow drawn medially, or to the right. Players may sometimes be advised to bring their left elbow to where they can see it, to reach the lower strings more easily.
Raising either shoulder beyond a naturally relaxed position is an easy habit to acquire without noticing it. Like any other unwarranted tension, it limits freedom of motion, and increases the risk of discomfort, while decreasing sound quality. It is useful to pay attention to the "square" formed by the right arm and bow, keeping it in a flat plane, and noticing which parts "lead" in string-crossing motions.
Left hand: producing pitch
While beginning violin students often rely on tapes or markers placed on the fingerboard for correct placement of the left-hand fingers, more proficient and experienced players place their fingers on the right spots without such indications but from practice and experience. To attain good intonation, violin players train their fingers to land in the right places, learning to hear when a pitch is in or out of tune, and cultivating the ability to correct the pitch rapidly and automatically as they are being played. "Singing" the pitch mentally helps to land in the right spot. Although adjusting to the desired pitch after landing the finger is indeed possible, the amount of adjustment needed may be greatly reduced by training the fingers to fall properly in the first place.The fingers are conventionally numbered 1 to 4. Especially in instructional editions of violin music, numbers over the notes may indicate which finger to use, with "0" above the note indicating "open" string, or playing on a string without manipulating the pitch using the left hand. The second finger may be either "low" or "high," corresponding to G or G on the E string in first position. Similarly, the first finger may reach a half-step down for the F, and the 3rd and 4th fingers reach up for A and C respectively, as shown on the chart of Bornoff finger patterns on the left.
The lower chart on the left shows the arrangement of notes reachable in first position. Left-hand finger placement is a matter of the ears and hand, not the eyes, that is, it has strong aural and tactile/kinesthetic components, with visual references being only marginally useful. Also, the spacing between note positions becomes closer as the fingers move "up" from the nut. The blue bars on the sides of the chart represent the usual possibilities for beginners' tape placements, at 1st, high 2nd, 3rd fingers, or Bornoff pattern number two. This particular pattern results in an A major scale on the A and E strings, which is a natural start for simple tunes like "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".
Positions
The placement of the left hand on the fingerboard is characterized by "positions". First position, where most beginners start is nearest to the nut, or scroll end, and furthest from the player's face. The lowest note available in this position in standard tuning is an open G; the highest notes in first position are stopped with the fourth finger on the E-string, sounding a B.Thus, in first position, the first finger placed on the E-string gives an F; from this position, the second finger can play a G or a G, the third finger an A, and - as previously mentioned - the fourth a B. Positioning the first finger so when pressed it gives a G is called second position, from which position all the ascending notes up to C may be played. Third position is achieved when the first finger presses down on an A, and so on, with fifth position on one string sounding the same notes as first position on the string above. There is also a "half position" where the first finger sounds a semitone above the open string and the other fingers a tone or semitone [|below] their normal positions, e.g. A-B-C-D. The same notes could be played in first position with the first finger moving from "low first" to B, but this would produce a sliding first finger, which is not always desirable.
The upper limit of the violin's range is largely determined by the skill of the player. A skilled player can play more than two octaves on a single string, and four octaves on the instrument as a whole. All except the lowest and highest notes can be played on multiple strings in different positions. That is, the "high" B note referred to above can be played not only by the fourth finger on the E-string in first position, but also by the fourth finger in fifth position on the A-string, in ninth position on the D-string, and thirteenth position on the G-string.
Violinists often change positions on the lower strings, sometimes to the consternation of composers and much to the confusion of beginners. This is usually done to handle a musical passage that would otherwise require fast switching of strings. It is also done to produce a particular timbre: the same note will sound substantially different depending on which string is used to play it. That "high" B, when played on the E-string can have a clear, even piercing timbre; the same "high" B played on the A-string or D-string or G-string may sound "warmer" or less abrasive. For this reason, violinists often avoid playing a single note on the E-string within a phrase of notes on the A-string, as one E-string note would stand out with a different timbre.
Different strings have different tone qualities, because of their different physical composition and their different resonances on the instrument. The choice of timbres on different strings is vital to the musicality of the instrument, and intermediate and advanced players will often deliberately play in a higher position on a lower string for effect. This effect is sometimes indicated by the composer or arranger. The most common indication uses the letter name of the string: for example, if a composer wants a passage that would otherwise be taken on the D-string to be played on the G-string, they write "sul G", "G-Saite", "auf G", "G corde", or "on G" in the part, the first two being the most commonly used notations. Occasionally, numbers or Roman numerals are used, so the example might be written "4. corde" or "IV corde" ; the simplest way to indicate which string to play is to write the number alone.
Open strings
A special timbre results from playing a note without touching its string with a finger, thus sounding the lowest note on that string. Such a note is said to be played on an open string. Open string notes have a very distinct sound resulting from the absence of the damping action of a finger, and from the fact that vibrato is produced differently from on-fingered notes. Other than low G, open strings are sometimes selected for special effects.One striking effect that employs open strings is bariolage. This is the repeated alternation of notes played on two or more strings, where one of the notes is usually an open string. This string crossing is often rapid and is best executed with a sinuous movement of the bow arm. Sometimes the same pitch as an open string will be fingered on an adjacent string, so that the alternation is between the same note on two strings, one stopped, one open, giving a rhythmic pulsating effect. Bariolage was a favorite device of Joseph Haydn, who used it for example in his string quartet Opus 50 no. 6, and in the "Farewell" Symphony. It is also prominently featured in the Preludium of Bach's Partita No.3 in E major for solo violin.
Playing an open string simultaneously with a stopped note on an adjacent string produces a bagpipe-like a drone, often used by composers in imitation of folk music. Sometimes the two notes are identical, giving a ringing sort of "fiddling" sound.