RE:The Violin Hickey....

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CarrollTowerCX
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RE:The Violin Hickey....

Post by CarrollTowerCX »

I had read of the Violin Hickey several months ago. Since then I have carefully looked at many of Vanessa-Mae's videos and hundreds of still photos. I have not been able to observe anything that would even remotely indicate the presence of one. Upon reading further on the subject, I have found what I consider to be the reason, actually several possible reasons, why Vanessa-Mae appears to be without the Violin Hickey.

Number one: is because she has the proper chin rest, the proper stance and holds the violin the right way, without giving it The Death Grip.

Number two: I consider to be as important, if not more so, and that is her Asian heritage. My Wife is Asian and I know that her skin reacts differently than mine. Also, further reading has shown me that most Asian Violinists do not get the Violin Hickey. They may get a patch of rougher skin at that location, but seldom a red mark.

Now as an aside. I noticed in the video on "The Making Of Me", when Vanessa-Mae is talking to her father Graham in the garden, that HE seems to have a Violin Hickey! How interesting!

CX
Xanthippe

Re: RE:The Violin Hickey....

Post by Xanthippe »

Yes, that is very interesting.

Vanessa-Mae went through an intense training when she studied in Beijing the Central Conservatoire. Under the supervision of Professor Lin Yao-Ji, Vanessa-Mae was trained according to the Yankelovich technique. With this methodology, students are trained to acquire a solid yet relaxed technique which allows the violinist to direct energy into music instead of bottle it up in physical tension and stress. During her stay in China, Vanessa-Mae laid the basis from where she would develop from a promising prodigious talent into a gifted professional musician and violinist. She explained later that this period rendered her the technique that enables her to play the violin in a very relaxed manner.
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