A musician’s posture is one of the most important physical aspects of their playing. It affects every part of an instrumentalists ability to relax (hopefully preventing injuries), articulate, breath, and play effectively. It can also have an influence on the musician’s longevity as an active musician.

Here is a tried and true exercise to insure good posture in yourself and your students. This has been proven effective for vocalists, as well!

Stand straight and stretch your arms up toward the ceiling. Then wiggle your fingertips – this is really important because it helps reduce unnecessary tension in the arms. Slowly begin to lower the arms straight out to the sides, and make sure the elbows do not bend. Keep wiggling the fingers!  Continue bringing your arms down until they are hanging at your sides. Your shoulders should now be in the “perfect posture” position.

This method works really well in helping teach young children and is far more effective than merely saying “stand/sit up straight,” or “put your shoulders back,” or other common directives.

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Check out our favorite book for elementary violin students. This makes a wonderful start prior to launching into the Suzuki books.

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Essential Elements for Strings – Book 1 with EEi Essential Elements. Instructional, Methods and Play Along. Softcover Media Online. 48 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.868049).

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