In my article about the violin hold I mentioned the correct adjustment of the shoulder rest. Today we’ll have a look into the benefits of this accessory.
If you look at the photos in the article you can see how the violin hold should look like. More or less. The summary of this post was:
- Your shoulders must be relaxed. Never pull them up, no matter what happens.
- Your head should be straight. Don’t duck it or otherwise change it’s angle.
- The violin should point in an angle of about 45 degrees to the left.
- You must be able to hold your instrument effortless without support of the left hand.
What does this generally mean for the use of shoulder rests?
Easy answer: It depends.
It depends on your anatomy, mainly on the length of your neck. If your neck is longer than the distance between the bottom of the violin and the top of your chin rest you almost certainly need a shoulder rest. It’s simple as that.
If you don’t use any shoulder rest in this case you have to shorten the distance between your shoulder and your chin or jaw bone respectively. You could do this either by pulling up the shoulder or by inclining your head towards the chin rest, which is not good for orthopedic reasons. Or you ignore both and hold the violin with your left hand which has a great impact on your vibrato and your shifts.
If your anatomy is totally different, if your neck is short enough to hold the violin without any support and without manipulating shoulder or head, you don’t need any shoulder rest, of course. But the vast majority of violinists will have to use some sort of support equipment since most necks are at least a bit longer than the height of the instrument plus chin rest.
When you go shopping for a shoulder rest better take your teacher with you. There are lots of different models on the market and that makes it a bit difficult to pick the right one. I recommend a shoulder rest from either Kun or Wolf, both renowned brands with a huge experience. The advantage of those rests: They are adjustable in multiple ways. It’s easy to change the height or angle, they are quite stable yet still affordable.
But most important: Try them out! Don’t buy any specific shoulder rest just because a friend told you so. You must feel comfortable with it. That’s the main reason why you’re buying such a device.
What are the disadvantages of shoulder rests?
- In former times people didn’t use any shoulder rests.
Well, that’s not a drawback and not entirely true. In the 18th century for example, people didn’t have any rests comparable to accessories presently on the market, that’s sure. But they found other ways to support their violins, mostly some sort of cloth they stuffed between shoulder and instrument thus enabling them to play in a more relaxed way. Even nowadays some people with shorter necks use this “high-tech-equiment” successfully.
- Using shoulder rests is unsportsmanlike.
Sounds funny but I really heard this argument. Either you want to play the violin as good as possible or you visit a gym. Not both simultaneously. I won’t comment this any further.
- Shoulder rests impair the sound quality.
That’s the only argument with some truth in it. Shoulder rests usually have to be attached to the violin in some way. Boots made of rubber or a synthetic material hold them in place. So they have a slight impact on sound, like a very small mute. But it’s almost impossible to tell if somebody is playing with or without shoulder rest. Perhaps you might be able to tell when you compare the sound directly with the same player and the same instrument.
But again – it could be a slight deterioration.
Looking at the last argument I must say: Shoulder rests are great for me and anyone with a neck like mine. They enable me to perform an effortless vibrato and a good intonation, no matter if I’m playing in the first or in the eighth position or if I’m shifting somewhere in between. My entire violin hold, intonation and vibrato would be spoiled if I played without a shoulder rest and my chiropractor would be happy.
If that’s the only drawback, if the shoulder rest acts like a tiny mute, well – I can live with that.
Technorati Tags: Shoulder Rest, Violin Hold
