V.com weekend vote: Have you tried different chinrests for comfort?
Many people look to their shoulder rest to alleviate pain and help with set-up -- either looking for the "right one" or eliminating it all together. But something many people overlook is the chinrest, that piece of wood on the top of the fiddle that cups the chin. Oftentimes students or even longtime players simply settle for the chinrest that came on the fiddle, without much more thought.
But finding the right the chin rest can make a huge difference in one's comfort level. For those with a tall neck, a higher chinrest can fill space between the violin and the chin, without raising the violin as a shoulder rest does. For those with a short neck, a lower chinrest can increase the comfort level without changing the height of the violin from the shoulder.
And another consideration is where the chinrest sits: is it to the left of the tailpiece, or over the center? Is it mounted on the side, or the center? How does that affect the angle of the violin? The idea is to find a chinrest that puts the violin at an ideal angle, while also putting your head in the healthiest, most comfortable place that won't require you to turn your head at an awkward angle or clench with the neck.
What are your experiences with chinrests? Please select the answer below that best relates to your experience, and then tell us about it in the comments below. You can describe a solution that really worked for you, or you can describe a problem that you continue to have and wish to solve.
You might also like:
- Achieving a Pain-Free Setup on Viola or Violin
- Julie Lyonn Lieberman on How Violinists Can Prevent Injury with Proper Stretches and Set-up
- Optimizing Posture and Movement for Pain-Free Violin Playing
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Replies
When I purchased my current violin, my luthier gave me several chin rests with which to experiment. Midway through trying these out, he brought in a couple of violins. He wanted me to have the option of one of these chin rests as well. One of these two ended up being the ideal (ebony) chin rest for me on my new violin.
But, chin rests can be tricky things. The chin rest I selected was a side-mount, versus a center-mount. What's interesting is that, chin rests can influence the violin's voice. Especially side-mounts. Indeed, this was something that I experienced. For example, the tone of my violin varied, depending upon how "deeply" I overlapped the chin rest on the rim of the violin.
Frustrated with this, I finally took the violin back to the luthier, and he mounted the chin rest on the violin in an optimum fashion. It took some adjustment on the underside of the chin rest, and he removed some material so as to avoid the underside of the chin rest from touching the tail piece. But when he was done, the violin sounded excellent, and the chin rest enabled my to comfortably hold the violin under my chin.
After a similar problem with a tailpiece that unfortunately broke, I now let my luthier make any kind of these adjustments to my violin. It may cost some time and materials; but, it's worth it.
Yes, I tried a center-mounted, but in the end, I discovered playing without shoulder rest and continuing, even without a chin rest. There is a nice book "Before the chinrest" with good technical exercises getting used to that. Now for many years I play without chinrest. I do use a chamois.
Is it just me, or does the chinrest make a much bigger effect than the shoulder rest? I can play with almost any shoulder rest and without, without minding too much, but a wrong chin rest throws everything off.
It's a mystery to me why so many seem to never think about it. I spent years playing with very flat Guarneri trying to hold on to the part that goes over the tailpiece, without anyone mentioning anything.
For many years I relied entirely on a shoulder rest to keep my viola in place, because even though the viola came with one of the lowest chinrests on the market (a Kaufman), it still did not fit between my jaw and collarbone. Eventually, after a series of shoulder injuries, I started trying different chinrests, none to my satisfaction. Finally I got a custom-made chinrest in 2018, and it's made all the difference.
The ideal chinrest for me is actually impossible on a viola -- I would need my chinrest to be both centered and lower than the tailpiece. So what I have is the best-possible compromise: ultra-low and half-centered so that my jaw can be as close to the tailpiece as possible without pressing on it.
I have used a Berber chinrest on both my violin and viola because I prefer the way it positions my instruments to the ones that tend to come with the instruments.
Over the years I tried a number of different chinrests but for the longest time I’ve used the Kaufman chinrest. They are not all the same. Some are higher, some have a more prominent edge, some lend themselves to going over and clearing the tailpiece more than others. I prefer more flat, more tailpiece clearance. I have a fairly sizeable violin collection with the Kaufmans. When they have been too high for me or with too sharp an edge, I have sanded them down with a Dremel tool.
I could never get used to a "hard" chin rest and finally found the Wolf Maestro Chin rest, which is made of leather. It suits me perfectly and is very comfortable.
Looks like many of us are in search of a super low chinrest -- and for me it has to be center mount. I've had the best luck with a modified Flesch, but still searching for better options.
The problem with a lot of clearance over the tailpiece is that such a chinrest can’t be too low. You might try a Zitman. It’s still a little too high for me but you might like it. It’s kind of in between a Kaufman and a Flesch.
As for chinrest’s hardness, my suede cover takes care of that. Plus not pressing.
A number of years ago, I did have to go to a store to try a few chinrests and find one that works well for me because I was using whatever came with the violin and it wasn't right for me, so during that trip, I found something I liked. That was back when I was 8 or 9 years old. I haven't really needed to experiment a lot more after that, so I've pretty much stuck with the same overall chinrest design for the past 10 years or so, and I'm really happy with it so I see no need to change. Over the years, I have had to buy new chinrests because of sizing up from fractionals, or buying additional ones of the same model to use on viola, which I added later. Some people need a very different setup between violin and viola, but for me, the same sort of chinrest and shoulder rest works pretty well for me on both, though my viola shoulder rest is not set as high as my violin shoulder rest.
And yes, for full disclosure, I'm not very fond of the stock Guarneris or stock side mounts that frequently come on violins/violas when I acquire them, so swapping out the stock chinrest is just normal for me now when I get a new instrument. Of course everyone is different, but my anatomical features generally favour a flatter chinrest. Pronounced edges aren't my thing and tend to feel uncomfortable, and I also prefer something mounted in the middle. My personal favourite chinrests for myself include the center mounted Wittner (both non-adjustable and the Augsburg version) and the Flat Flesch.
I like the Ohrenform/Berber chinrest because it allows you to play more centered or side and I tend to move my chin around while I’m playing. I have one on both my violin and viola.
Actually, just checked out the Wolf that Louise mentioned. Looks rather good! Looks similar to the Zitman and maybe not too high. The site that I found it on listed it at $80! At that price it had BETTER be good!
“Yes, after trying the original I've changed it … a few times.” I can name Teka, Dresden, Guarneri, Flesch, and Berber among the ones I’ve used. My 1869 fiddle, an instrument I’ve had since my later student years, came with a Teka medium, which worked well for me; but I later found the lower-set Dresden better suited to my build.
I forget what came with my 1883 and 1921 instruments, which I acquired this century; but I soon retired these chinrests and settled on Dresdens for them as well. The 1883 fiddle has taller ribs than the other two instruments, and this makes it a tad more of a stretch to hold, even with the SR set to its lowest point on the shoulder side. I use a large-size Strad Pad with Velcro attachment on all three Dresdens. The pad covers the whole CR top - and the metal brackets that hold the device in place - so there’s no bare metal/skin contact. The pad also gives me a nice grip and added traction.
At first try, I liked the Guarneri and Flesch flat center-mounted CRs; but later, after using each for a while, I decided that both of them too tall for my build.
I struggled for decades to find a chinrest that really works for me. I finally got hold of the kit at chinrests.com. And using their system found out what works for me. Made a world of difference. Made me feel so much more secure and made it much easier to play. Amazing the difference.
My violin came with the standard Guarneri style chin rest. It was fine, all of the violins I had when I was a student also had the Guarneri style. I recently switched it out to the Holstien Freedom chinrest from Fiddlershop, and I am really loving the new chinrest, it just fits better and allows more freedom of movement when playing. I kept my old Guarneri just in case, but I don't see myself switching back.
Can someone recommend a low profile, low, ebony chinrest with minimal contact for the "G" string
side of the violin. Most chinrest are too high for me.
Have you tried the Wittner side Chin Rest? Quite flat, quite low, very comfortable. Not ebony but black plastic.
Again, Kaufman.
Prof Igor Ozim introduced me whilst I was attending his masterclass to the solution of raising the height of the chinrest instead of raising the violin via a shoulder rest. His point was that there was decreased ergonomics and playability if we go raising the violin using a shoulder rest because the strings would be now heigher, especially for reaching the lower strings, making more stress on the body than would be otherwise necessary.
I studied with two of Prof Ozim's proteges: Brian Finlayson in Australia at the time, and later with Helfried Fister in Austria.
Brian Finlayson helped me modify my existing chinrest by casting a plaster riser under the normal footing, which was then painted black to match the ebony wood. It certainly was much more comfortable and helped me lose a lot of tension I'd had holding the violin. To put this in context too, it was back in the early 1980s, well before the flood of adjustable chinrests came onto the market
Helfried Fister had me practice 10 minutes every day without a shoulder rest at all, to develop a natural combination of head weight and lefthand support for the violin. I eventually came to like it so much I discarded my shoulder rest for the next 20 years.
I have however in the last five years returned to using a conventional chinrest and shoulder rest as it allows a certain quality of vibrato I wasn't able to produce without the shoulder rest. But..and this is a big "but"....the proficiency and ease of playing I enjoy is very much due to the ergonomic adjustments I made to my posture and finding a natural balance with the violin whilst playing without the shoulder rest. So I still support the violin a lot with my left hand, I don't try to grip the violin with my chin - it is instead a very delicate sense of how little the violin actually needs holding at all to remain safely in position on my shoulder, even when shifting or playing on the G string in higher positions. I also look to the baroque players and what we can learn from them about holding the violin without either chinerest or shoulder rest without tension or diminished playability.
The upshot of all this for me is that it has given me a very fluid relationship with holding the violin and I can play all day without tension, although much of that also is the result of the fabulous effortless technique Prof Ozim conferred through his teaching.
I'd recommend trying many approaches, don't feel you have to stick with any one, and sometimes a change once in a while is good too.
The main thing - enjoy making music!
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August 18, 2024 at 04:19 AM · On my "student" instrument, I used the one that came with. Since I have upgraded and also got my viola, I have dabbled a few times and settled on a Wittner for both. Viola is side mounted, violin is centre.