As a result, violin teachers may need to help kids develop muscle strength, as well as some essential coordination, before a child will be successful in maintaining an acceptable posture and executing the more complex movements of playing violin.
The foundation of all of these skills is posture, which requires a specific set of muscles located in the abdomen, back and legs:
Postural control refers to the ability to maintain an upright trunk position. This is an important skill
needed for developing fine motor skills. Without good postural control, a child may have difficulty
maintaining an upright sitting posture and may fatigue easily when sitting at a desk in school. Plus
using the hands well will be difficult. When postural control is adequate, the hands may be used
effectively for working on tabletop tasks, such as writing and cutting with scissors. For the hands to
work well, strength, stability and mobility are necessary in the shoulders and forearms. So, in
addition to the shoulders being strong, wrist stability is an important component for having precise
finger control.– from Therapy Street for Kids
Pre-requisites for violin playing include some essential skills in the following areas:
- correct pincer grasp
- crossing the midline of the body
- keeping one part of the body still while moving another
- doing a simple task simultaneously with both hands
- as above, with two different tasks
- moving both hands in parallel and in mirror-image
- strength of the postural muscles
- strength of the arms & fingers
- finger isolation
- timing movements to an external rhythm
- adjusting touch pressure