It will thus be seen that from the palm to the root of the neck the violin rests upon an inclined plane, gravitating towards the collar–bone (see Fig. 1). The instrument then is not held, but rests upon a friendly hand and neck.
From the fact that its position is maintained by the force of gravity, it follows that the chin need not grasp the base of the violin—since it holds itself—and the head is left free and erect.
Thus the old–time violinist’s constrained head position is avoided.
The line of support along the palmar surface of the thumb is full of anatomical interest.
The accompanying diagram (Fig. 2) may serve to illustrate this and some other points. A black line will be seen extending along the whole length of the palmar surface of the thumb, crossing the base of the annular ligament to a point a little above the wrist. This is essentially the line of support for the neck and upper curves of the violin. It may be called a movable rest, swaying laterally, it is true, but only to a limited extent. The thumb is placed on a different plane from the rest of the fingers, and has motions essentially different from them. The power of perfect opposition to all the fingers by the thumb distinguishes man from the most intelligent of the lower animals.
PALMAR SURFACE OF LEFT HAND. After Gray.
Fig. 2.
Although the thumb possesses a cunning in movements far superior to the other fingers, yet in Mr. Bull’s method the thumb, at any given instant, is the fixed point or rest for the upper part of the violin, while the fingers are left absolutely free and movable for the demands of fingering.