jan 1, 1756 - Leopold Mozart

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Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule

The first way of holding the violin has a rather pleasant and relaxed appearance. Here the violin is quite unconstrained; held chest-hight, slanting, and in such fashion that strokes of the bow are directed more upwards than horizontal. This position is undoubtedly natural and pleasant to the eyes of the onlookers but somewhat difficult and inconvenient for the player as during quick movements of the hand in the high position, the violin has no support and must therefore necessarily fall unless by long practice the advantage of being able to hold it between the thumb and index-finger has been acquired.
The second is a comfortable method. The violin is placed against the neck so that is lies somewhat in front of the shoulder and the side on which the E (thinnest) string lies comes under the chin, whereby the violin remains unmoved in its place even during the strongest movements of the ascending and descending hand.

The "handle", or rather the neck of the violin, must not be taken into the whole hand like a lump of wood, but held in such a manner between thumb and index-finger that it rests on one side on the ball at the base of the index-finger, and on the other side against the upper part of the thumb joint, but in no way touching the skin which joins the thumb and index-finger together. The thumb must not project too far over the fingerboard, for otherwise it would hinder the player and rob the G string of its tone. The lower part of the hand (namely, where it joins the arm) must remain free, and the violin must not lie on it, for in doing so the nerves which connect the arm and fingers would be pressed together and so contracted, and the third and fourth fingers prevented from stretching. We see daily examples of such clumsy players, who find everything difficult because they restrict themselves by an awkward position of the violin and the bow. The scroll of the violin is then held on the level of the mouth, or, at the highest, level with the eyes; but it must not be allowed to sink lower than the level of the chest.

The violin must remain immovable. By this I mean that you must not allow it to turn backward and forward with every stroke, making yourself laughable to the spectators.

tr. Knocker, p. 54, pp. 57-58, p. 61
(Augsburg, 1756; Eng. tr., E. Knocker, London, 1948)

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