Thumb-mountable support for enhancing support and control of an instrument of the violin-family

1. A thumb-mountable support for use on a support hand of a musician while playing a violin-family instrument, the thumb-mountable support comprising:

a thumb ring configured to substantially surround the thumb of the support hand to thereby secure the thumb-mountable support to the thumb of the support hand;

a resiliently deformable flap extending from a principal body portion of the thumb ring to a position below the first thumb knuckle of the user to inhibit over-extension of the thumb of the support hand while playing the violin-family instrument; and

a saddle anchored to the thumb of the support hand by the thumb ring, the saddle having a lower surface configured to engage and substantially span a generally V-shaped region formed between a thumb and body of the support hand, the saddle further having an upper surface configured to substantially span a region between the thumb and a first knuckle of an index finger of the support hand, wherein the upper surface includes a low-friction enhancement surface disposed to engage a rear portion of a neck of the violin-family instrument and provides a primary support surface for the neck.

2. The thumb-mountable support of claim 1 , wherein the thumb ring is configured to substantially surround the thumb from a position proximate or above a first thumb knuckle of the musician and terminate at a position below a second thumb knuckle of the musician to thereby allow tactile contact between the thumb of the musician and the neck of the violin-family instrument.

3. The thumb-mountable support of claim 1 , wherein the saddle is formed from resiliently deformable materials having varying densities.

4. The thumb-mountable support of claim 1 , wherein the saddle is formed from a resiliently deformable material selected from a group comprising foam rubber and neoprene.

5. The thumb-mountable support of claim 1 , wherein the low-friction enhancement surface comprises a material layer added to the upper surface of the saddle, wherein the material layer is selected from a group comprising: a velour material, and/or a hook and loop material disposed to engage the rear portion of the neck of the violin-family instrument.

6. The thumb-mountable support of claim 5 , wherein the hook and loop material is configured to allow provision of multiple layers at the upper surface of the saddle to adjust a height of the saddle.

7. The thumb-mountable support of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the saddle and thumb ring are moldable by the musician.

8. A thumb-mountable support for use on a support hand of a musician while playing a violin-family instrument, the thumb-mountable support comprising:

a thumb ring formed from a first material and configured to substantially surround the thumb of the support hand to thereby secure the thumb-mountable support to the thumb of the support hand, the thumb ring including at least one pair of opposed side straps;

a resiliently deformable flap extending from a principal body portion of the thumb ring to a position below the first thumb knuckle of the user to inhibit over-extension of the thumb of the support hand while playing the violin-family instrument; and

a saddle anchored to the thumb of the support hand by the thumb ring, the saddle being formed from a second material and connected to the thumb ring by the at least one pair of opposed side straps, wherein a lower portion of the saddle is configured for engaging and substantially spanning a generally V-shaped region formed between a thumb and body of the support hand, the saddle further including an upper surface substantially spanning a region between the thumb and a first knuckle of an index finger of the support hand, wherein the upper surface includes a low-friction enhancement portion configured to engage a rear portion of a neck of the violin-family instrument and provides a primary support surface for the neck.

9. The thumb-mountable support of claim 8 , wherein the first material and the second material have different densities.

10. The thumb-mountable support of claim 8 , wherein the thumb ring is configured to substantially surround the thumb from a position proximate or below a first thumb knuckle of the musician and terminate at a position below a second thumb knuckle of the musician to thereby allow tactile contact between the thumb of the musician and a neck of the violin-family instrument.

11. The thumb-mountable support of claim 8 , wherein the saddle is moldable by the musician.

12. A thumb-mountable support for use on a support hand of a musician while playing a violin-family instrument, the thumb-mountable support comprising:

a thumb ring configured to substantially surround the thumb of the support hand to thereby secure the thumb-mountable support to the thumb of the support hand;

a resiliently deformable flap extending from a principal body portion of the thumb ring to a position below the first thumb knuckle of the user to inhibit over-extension of the thumb of the support hand while playing the violin-family instrument; and

a saddle anchored to the thumb of the support hand by the thumb ring, the saddle having a lower surface configured to engage and to substantially span a generally V-shaped region formed between a thumb and body of the support hand, and an upper surface configured to substantially span a region between the thumb and a first knuckle of an index finger of the support hand, wherein the upper surface includes a low-friction enhancement surface that is configured to accept a rear portion of a neck of the violin-family instrument and form a primary support surface for the neck; and

a moldable structure configured with the saddle to allow the musician to deform the saddle to a desired contour.

13. The thumb-mountable support of claim 12 , wherein the moldable structure comprises a thin ductile strip.

14. The thumb-mountable support of claim 12 , wherein the thumb ring is configured to substantially surround the thumb from a position proximate or below a first thumb knuckle of the musician and terminate at a position below a second thumb knuckle of the musician to thereby allow tactile contact between the thumb of the musician and the neck of the violin-family instrument.

15. The thumb-mountable support of claim 13 , wherein the saddle is configured to terminate at a position below a second knuckle of an index finger of the musician to thereby allow contact between fingers of the musician and a fingerboard of the violin-family instrument.