The Skilled Musician

 Do you wish your violin hold were more comfortable and secure?

The first thing you need to address is the chinrest. Take your shoulder rest off and let the violin rest on your collarbone. Do you have to lower your jaw in order to reach your chinrest? If so, the chin rest is too low. You must first find a chinrest that is the right height and shape for you. Because everyone is different, there is not one specific kind of chinrest that works for everyone.

You must first decide whether a to-the-left chinrest or an over-the-tailpiece chinrest is right for you. If you have short arms, you might prefer an over-the-tailpiece chinrest, and if you have long arms you probably will prefer one to the left. The shapes of the chinrests are numerous because everyone’s jaws are different. But most people will need a chinrest with a lip to it so that you can hook it underneath your jaw for support.

Here are some resources that will help you know what is out there. I would start by looking at sharmusic.com or swstrings.com for ordinary ones. But here are some not so ordinary ones.

Berber or Ohrenform—this comes in different heights. I use a modified one of these.

Frisch and Denig—these are expensive, but the website is very helpful just to get ideas.

Holstein Freedom

Kreddle—I use a modified one of these. I LOVE the adjustability of it!

Wave—I have tried these and they were comfortable.

Wittner—these are a series of hypoallergenic chinrests that are comfortable and some models offer height adjustability. Look for the Zuerich and the Augsburg models for the adjustable ones.

You may have noticed that I say that I use a modified version of the Berber and the Kreddle chinrest, and be curious about that. So here is what I did. I needed the versatility of the Kreddle, particularly adjusting the angle of the chinrest to the violin. But I did not fit either of the two cups that snap on and off of the Kreddle. So I took a deep breath and cut off the feet of my Berber chinrest. I sanded both my Berber and the base of the Kreddle. Then I glued the Berber cup on to the Kreddle base. Click here to see the results. It is fitted now to my particular needs. In fact, I leave it a bit loose so that when I need a slight adjustment, I can do it in five seconds. You will also notice that I have it set up so the chinrest is farther off the end of the violin than is ordinary. This too helps the comfort level.

Once you have the correct chinrest, the shoulder rest should simply fill in the gap between the instrument resting on your collarbone and your shoulder. There are many shoulder rests. Some of the top ones are listed here.

BonMusica—I use this. It is the most adjustable on the market, and features a unique lapping over the shoulder to make sure it doesn’t slip.

Comford Cradle—This is very comfortable if it fits you. It comes in two sizes, but is not adjustable.

Everest EZ—This is a comfortable shoulder rest for shorter-necked people. The height is adjustable.

Performa—This is wide. It comes with either a wooden or plastic body.

Pirastro Korkferrest—This is adjustable and very light