Generation of high-quality sounds requires a sound instrument-to-body set-up.
The term “set-up” refers to all preparation steps that you take before playing your instrument. At times, discussion of set-up will involve a major topic, such as the instrument’s relationship to your body. Eventually, set-up discussion may become as detailed as a reference to which part of a fingertip must be managed in order to perform detailed tasks.
The most important set-up step, is determining the most logical and natural physical support of the instrument for you. How the instrument makes its way to your body is the most important step in learning to play a string instrument the way skilled professionals perform.
String instruments and their bows are no different from golf clubs, tennis racquets, and even from pencils: they all require a technique in order to hold and use them well. Proper physical posture, balance, and logical use of physical laws of nature, contribute to finding the most effective, comfortable, and soundest of answers.
Correct “Sound Answers” to the questions that arise when placing the instrument into playing position, always include being comfortable and balanced, while properly supporting the instrument well, with secure physical confidence. When the instrument is confidently in place, you are then set-up to make clear, strong, and compelling sounds that you can rely on!
We will explore many natural physical laws and how to benefit from utilizing them when playing a string instrument. From the onset of learning, understanding how to use natural laws of physical actions correctly will rapidly make you comfortable and confident with your instrument. Finding natural answers to the physical challenges of string playing, while practicing and mastering the instrument-position-to-body relationship, allows for polished and exceptional instrument-position set-up.
There are organized and logical steps involved in the learning process. Understanding the task at hand is only the first step. The next step is applying this understanding to physical action. Everyone needs to practice in order to train the body to perform the actions required by the musical idea to be performed. At the same time, one must bear in mind the most successful solutions and practice them at always-rising quality levels. How?
