Note 45 — Chapter XI · EARLY VIOLIN MUSIC AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF VIOLIN TECHNIQUE

Leopold Mozart (father of Wolfgang Amadeus) referred to it in his method for the violin (1758) and sharply condemned it. ‘Some teachers,’ he remarked, ‘in their desire to help pupils, label the names of tones upon the fingerboard or make marks upon it by scratching. All these devices are useless, because the pupil who is musically talented finds the notes without such aid, and persons who are not thus inclined should learn how to handle the ax instead of the bow.’