A violin or viola is actually a fairly robust piece of engineering, but it does not take well to being dropped or bumped!
The “rest position” under the arm gives us a nice safe way to cradle and carry the instrument while we’re not playing.
- Violin goes under your right arm, in the crook of the elbow with the scroll facing forward
- The strings should be facing away from your body
- Your elbow should be behind the bridge (you don’t want to squeeze that part)
- Hold the bow in the right hand using a “pincer” grip (thumb and pointer). Just let it dangle with the hair facing away from you (we want to avoid touching that).
Let the bow dangle down rather than holding it poking out like a sword. Apart from the obvious hazard of poking your fellow violinists while walking around, it’s easier than you’d think to catch the tip of the bow on a chair or bit of furniture and accidentally snap it!