Kinesthetics and the violin

My friend and fellow violinist Lauren is working on her thesis for a MS in kinesiology. She invited me to come down to the lab and participate in her research on violinists and the angle at which they hold their violin. Here I am, all hooked up to electrodes and reflectors. I think the swim cap makes the whole outfit.

It was quite an experience. I had to wear something that would expose my scapulas (scapulae?), which ruled out my entire wardrobe except my swimming top. It took almost two hours to get all the electrodes on. Each one is positioned on a particular muscle, as well as a few over bone to be grounded. After attaching them, we had to test them to make sure they were all working by working each muscle individually. Next, the reflectors went on, as points of reference. There were five cameras around me and one directly overhead. We did many trials, which involved playing the beginning of Perpetual Motion on the G string in 1st position, 3rd position, and 10th position (3x each) holding the violin at 3 different angles from the chin. I don't think I have ever played in 10th position before. I also played a G major 4 octave arpeggio, another first.

It was interesting, tiring, and actually quite an upper body workout. I was only the 2nd person of 10 to do the data collection and Lauren promises to let me know what her findings are when she finishes all the research.