by Felicia Arnold

Created on: August 06, 2011

To discuss the anatomy of the violin one would need to explain how alive this instrument can be.  The violin parts can be described in such a way as to make them seem life like.

The four pegs at the top of the neck of the violin adjust the strings to keep them in tune.  To keep them working as a team to produce the harmonic sounds, one needs to continually turn those pegs whenever the strings slip out of tune.  Think of the strings as the muscles in your body. In order for your muscles to work as they should they must be strengthened and kept in good form. Once those muscles are toned you can run that race, or  lift that weight. When tuned correctly, your strings produce beautiful sounds capable of lifting your spirits or touching your soul.

The strings run down the narrow neck of the violin.  This neck is not to be strangled, or handled roughly.  Your hand caresses this narrow  neck and glides up and down  as your fingers find the correct place to  rest and produce those perfect notes.

The body of the violin is shaped with such care, rounded in parts and warm as a well fed belly!  Once the notes are created and fed into this body, the sounds which come out from the small opening vibrate your soul as well.  You can feel the perfection in your music as the notes come out from the belly and satisfy your hunger for beautiful music.

These melodic morsels come from the drawing of the bow across the strings. The bow has horse hair stretched from  tip to bottom, and is kept taut and rosined.  Using this bow well and drawing it with great skill creates the smooth sounds we enjoy.  The bow is only allowed to be drawn across the strings as they are stretched across a bridge.  This wooden bridge elevates our four strings to work their best to create the sounds our musical pieces require. 

So, where do you place your neck on this creation of musical beauty?  At the bottom of the body, to the side is your chin rest...where you rest your chin and join your body to that of the violin's. When you are in a musical trance and becoming one with the vibrations from your partner you can't seem to get close enough to the chin rest. As you swing and dance with your notes of such pleasure, you clutch the chin rest with your neck...and never let go.

Keep your violin alive and well, and it will continue to bring pleasure to all to are near. Keep it healthy, clean, and tuned and it will last a lifetime.

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