Three Months Without a You-Know-What

August 4, 2013 at 11:57 PM

It has been almost exactly 3 months since I retired up my 'you-know-what'. In that time my vibrato has made strides that it never did before, and gone are most of my aches and pains, but not all. I still battle right arm pain that I'm thinking maybe something else that I need to seek medical advice on. I suspect a pinched nerve of some sort or something similar in my right elbow. Luckily it only bothers me in fast 16th note passages, something I can avoid for the most part.

The one down-side with going without a you-know-what is the number of rubber bands I go through to hold my little sponge on. Today, I hit the jackpot to solve this little problem:

OK, so it won't fit in my case, but it is conveniently packaged. I think I may have enough to get me through Interlochen.

From Brian Kelly
Posted on August 5, 2013 at 5:23 AM

I use rubber bands to hold a piece of foam rubber tubing (air conditioning insulation) onto my shoulder rest ; it exetends the height of the shoulder rest. I have found that the coloured rubber bands wear out very quickly. Buy the good quality natural/brown rubber bands and they will last longer.

From marjory lange
Posted on August 5, 2013 at 2:10 PM

They also make longer, heavier ones. Those are what I used when I was on a little-rubber-thing-for-the-shoulder roll. Never broke one.

From Henry Butcher.
Posted on August 5, 2013 at 10:51 PM

These days I don't attach any foreign objects to my violin, Just a piece of rolled up chamois over my shoulder.

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