Could a right-handed character play the violin if he was missing a finger from his left hand?

Question

I've already asked this in the Music section, which is the obvious place for it, but just thought I'd also post here on the off-chance that any people in B&A are also violinists.

There is a character in my book who plays the violin. He's right-handed, and I would like him to have a finger missing from his left hand. However, I'm not sure if this would stop him from playing the violin. Which hand would a right-handed violinist use to hold the bow, and which hand do they use for finger-placement on the strings? 

If it's the left hand that's used on the strings, would a missing finger stop someone from playing the violin altogether, or would they able to adapt to playing with three fingers and a thumb, or three fingers and a stump and a thumb?

If necessary, could he swap hands and learn to the play the other way round, as some guitarists have managed to do after accidents?

Also, would it make a difference which finger it was that was missing? For instance, is there a particular finger that's more dominant in violin-playing?

(If it makes any difference, the character in question is a self-taught fiddle-player of the kind you see in English and Irish folk bands, not a classical violinist.)

As you can probably tell I am a musical dunce and also struggle to tell left from right, so all help is gratefully received.

If the violin-playing was a really major part of the story or had to be described in detail, I'd obviously do some more in-depth research, but it's more something that occurs in passing and I just need to know if it would be possible. If it isn't, he will get lucky and be allowed to keep his finger...

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Not easily - it's his left hand which does the fingering and all the fingers are used. He might get away with it if he was missing the top joint of his thumb, though he'd need enough thumb to make a v of some sort. Finger-wise, if what he plays isn't terribly fast or difficult, he'd get away with it if it was his first or little finger missing (he'd have to not use the finger at all, a stump wouldn't help unless it was only a few mm missing). He'd just have to shift position far more frequently than other people. I think it would be deeply difficult if it was his ring or middle finger, because violin fingering needs to to have the tips of your fingers close together.

I'd expect him to learn to play the other way round if he'd always been missing his finger - most lefthanders play righthanded, it really isn't an issue. If he lost it years after learning, maybe he'd just give up on the faster pieces...though fiddle music tends to be fast.

I think he could adapt to almost any loss of fingers on his bow hand, provided he still had a pinch grip.

Edit: Meaghan, are you sure? Is there a reason you're learning to play left-handed?

lainiebsky · Answer

I know of a handful of string players who have had to learn to play in reverse because of injuries to the fingers of the left hand.  Normally you finger with the left hand and bow with the right.  

Which finger is missing?  If it's the index finger, I don't think you could have control over the bow with just the other three.  On the other hand, a self-taught fiddler probably doesn't care about the fine points and would just saw away without caring about finesse.

The other problem is that you can't just go out and buy a left-handed violin.  You need to have a standard violin rebuilt to work the other way.  Somehow I can't see a dance fiddler shelling out the money to do that.

trott · Answer

Missing A Finger

Meaghan · Answer

I'm right handed and I use my right hand for the strings. Holding the bow with a missing finger wouldn't be too much of a problem, the character would just need to adjust their grip.

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Could a right-handed character play the violin if he was missing a finger from his left hand?

4 Answers