Comments

Karen, since this happens when you play something new or challenging, it's probably stress related. You're probably tensing your muscles without being aware of it. I see this all the time in my students. They tell me doesn't happen when they play at home. My advice is to relax. Try to be aware of the tension in your body. Take frequent stretch breaks. If you do some sort of meditation or relaxation technique, do it just before you play and as a break whenever you feel the tension starting. Try to be aware of how your body feels when you're playing and then let go. Thanks Pauline--

Oh, I'm aware of it. I'm tensing my chin and clamping down on the instrument, trying to free my left hand to attempt "continuous vibrato." Not that I can actually do continuous vibrato . . .

But anyway, in order to hold my instrument up without using my left hand/arm for support, I have to exert a lot of effort with my chin and shoulder. And if I do that long enough I start to have pain. And it's worse with a viola than a violin because a viola is bigger and heavier.

Maybe I need a new, or somehow different, shoulder rest. I know this is discussed a lot in this forum, but I don't understand how people can play without one. They must have very short necks or something. Different anatomy. The few times I've tried that I either have to support the instrument completely with my left hand and then can't do vibrato at all (or shift), or my shoulder and neck and head hurt like the dickens after <5 minutes.

Karen - it really sounds like you need to go to your local shop and see about getting a shoulder rest/chin rest set-up for your long neck. They can help you with this process. Between now and then, try taking a sponge or two to place between your shoulder and shoulder rest or chin rest to bring the height up a bit and see if that helps. Once you determine the right angles & heights with this temporary contraption, the luthier/shop can help you get a set-up that mimics it. Remember on the viola that it is much more comfortable when it is at about a 45 degree angle (vs. parallel to the floor). The neck is much thicker on a viola than a violin, so you will need this angle to reach around to the C and G strings.