I’ve been experimenting with different types of shoulder rests for several years now, trying to find the perfect design and placement to give me a secure hold so I can play with accuracy and comfort. However, since I’m built slightly like a T-Rex (big head, thick neck, short arms), the popular combination of a Guarneri
chinrest with a Kun
shoulder rest has not worked for me. I cycled through virtually every type of shoulder rest on the market to find one that would work. (If you’re interested in my reviews of them, scroll to the bottom of this post.)
I thought I had settled on the small, firm Belvelin foam shoulder rest. Since it’s not a fixed-in-place bar with feet, it gave me the ability to move the violin to the left (to play high on the G string) or to the right (to reach the tip of the bow). It was also very comfortable for average periods of playing time, it didn’t fall off like the Kun, or threaten to ding the varnish on the back of my violin like the Bonmusica. But I found that I was in a lot of pain after a two-hour performance. Why?? Because I was only addressing half of my setup problem.
I found this very helpful research project on adapting chinrests and shoulder rests to different violinists’ shapes and sizes. Aha! I definitely needed to work on the topside of my violin and see if my chinrest should be changed out. Continue reading “Shoulder Rest and Chinrest Reviews”