How to Hold a Violin
Including a discussion of chin rests and shoulder rests
By Michael Schallock
Illustrations by Jessica Schallock
The concepts illustrated in this short paper have been expressed by fine teachers for many years. However, many players still struggle with correct posture and ease of playing. We hope that by combining a discussion with careful illustrations that we may be able to assist in the understanding of how to hold the violin.
Summary:
The violin rests on the collarbone and is supported by the left hand and by the shoulder. Gentle weight from the head, with a relaxed neck, stabilizes the violin on the collarbone. The chin rest protects the top of the violin and adjusts for the length of the player’s neck. As the violin strings are held parallel to the floor a shoulder pad is fitted to fill the slight space between the back of the violin and the player’s shoulder. The shoulder pad should not rest on the collarbone and should not be used to compensate for the height of the player’s neck. The shoulder pad should not interfere with the violin’s resting on the player’s collarbone. A frequently overlooked function of the shoulder pad is to provide friction so that the violin neither pivots too easily nor slips off the shoulder. Active support of the violin shifts constantly between the left shoulder, jaw, and left hand, with contact with the collarbone remaining constant. Low density foam pads in minimal contact with the back of the violin will not adversely affect the sound of the instrument.
The violin can be held easily and comfortably for long periods of time if it is held correctly and if the chin rest and shoulder rest or pad are carefully fitted.
The violin should rest on the collarbone. The purpose of the chin rest is to protect the varnish and to adjust the distance from the jaw to the collarbone. Generally, flatter simpler chin rests are more comfortable than more contoured ones. A chamois skin or other non-slippery cloth may be used to cover the collarbone for comfort.
The violin resting lightly on the collarbone and the jaw resting gently on the chin rest establish two stable points of contact with the instrument.
The violin is also supported by the left hand. The neck of the violin should rest gently against the base knuckle of the first finger of the left hand. The side of the thumb should lightly contact the neck of the violin across from the first or second finger. The base of the first finger provides most of the support for the neck of the violin with the thumb providing gentle counter pressure so that the violin does not slip down into the web of the thumb.
The jaw, collarbone, base of the right index finger and the side of the left thumb establish four contact points with the violin.
It is beneficial to have the student spend some time simply holding the violin lightly with these contact points. I instruct my students to walk around slowly, paying attention to balance and posture, and noting how easy it is to hold the violin in this manner. The instrument is supported by the collarbone and the base of the first finger. The jaw on the chin rest and the left thumb provide stability but should not actively be involved in supporting the violin. Gravity pulls the violin downward. That force is countered by the collarbone and the base of the first finger assisted by the thumb. Any pressure by the thumb or jaw (weight of the head or twisting of the neck) slightly increases stability but greatly increases tension and does not in any way counter the force of gravity. Thus the violin should be supported and held as lightly as possible.
An average adult arm weighs six to ten pounds. A violin with foam pad weighs about one pound. The force exerted by the left hand to hold up the neck of the violin is less than six ounces! It is very important that the student has a correctly balanced body and learns to properly support the partially extended left arm with relaxed shoulder and back muscles. Many players hold the violin much more tightly than is necessary both with the jaw and the left hand. I think that most often this habit is formed by the player’s sense that the violin will “slip away” because they have never learned to properly support the instrument.
The student can now begin sliding the hand up and down the neck of the violin maintaining the four contact points and perhaps slightly releasing the already light counter pressure of the thumb. As the hand moves past third position into higher positions the thumb must move under the neck for support and to allow the left hand to reach higher on the fingerboard. The hand now comes lightly into contact with the body of the violin.
For more advanced students the full range of vibrato movements should be slowly and carefully explored with the hand in first position. (See Fischer’s Basics, and Practice). A full and comfortable vibrato can be produced with the arm, wrist, hand or combination with the base of the first finger lightly sliding against the neck of the violin, and in some cases moving slightly and briefly away from the neck. It is important to note the slight rotation of the left forearm in helping to produce the required finger motion. Without this rotation it will be much more difficult or impossible to vibrato without completely releasing the contact with the base of the first finger.
For some styles of vibrato and particularly for downward shifts of position it is beneficial to free the left hand of some of the responsibility of holding the violin against the force of gravity. It is at this point that we must consider a shoulder rest or pad of some sort if we are to avoid the instinctive upward shrugging of the player’s shoulder to increase support and friction.
If the player’s shoulder is sufficiently broad and not markedly sloped downward from the player’s neck, very little, if any, shoulder pad is required. More sloped shoulders and thinner physiques require a thicker pad or shoulder rest. A critical function of the shoulder pad is to provide some degree of friction so that the violin neither pivots too easily nor slips off the sloping shoulder. Often the use of some type of non-skid pad, even though quite thin, will offer the security the player has been attempting to achieve with a rigid rest.
The thickness of the pad or the shoulder rest should have no relationship to the length of the player’s neck. The distance from the collarbone to the jaw, i.e., the length of the neck, is accommodated by the height of the chin rest. Note that the distance from collarbone to jaw is not the same as the thickness of the violin plus chin rest. The violin rests on the collarbone at an angle. Because of the slight tilt of the violin the distance from collarbone to jaw is actually greater than the thickness of the instrument. I think that the erroneous perception of long necks needing higher shoulder rests arises from the relationship between the angle of the violin and the slant distance. As the forward tilt of the violin is increased, so is the apparent thickness of the instrument as measured on a slant. Generally, as shoulder rests are adjusted to be higher the effect is to tilt the violin more toward the E string side. This is undesirable and the effect is simply one of prying the jaw higher in the air by twisting the violin.
With the violin supported gently by the collarbone and the left hand, and with the strings approximately parallel to the floor, note the space between the back of the violin and the top of the player’s shoulder about midway between the player’s neck and the top of the shoulder (deltoid).
It is this space that must be filled with the shoulder rest or pad. It is generally a space of less than an inch. The pad will cross the back of the violin at an angle as the player holds the violin at an angle to the shoulder. The elastic holding the pad should be fastened to the end pin of the violin and will extend across the back and can be looped over the corner of the lower bout on the e string side. It is best not to attach the elastic to both bouts as this results in the pad being held too tightly to the back and muffling the sound. Commercial pads should be trimmed to remove excess material both for appearance and to minimize muffling.
To properly position the pad place it on the shoulder as shown. Then bring the violin up into playing position. Holding the pad in place, take the violin away from the shoulder and turn it over. Secure it in place with the elastic band. Adjust position for comfort.
With the use of the shoulder pad the violin now has three points of contact resisting the downward force of gravity: the collarbone, the top of the shoulder (pad), and the base of the first finger assisted by the thumb. Only two contact points are required to support the violin. Therefore the left hand can assume a more, or less, active supporting role depending on the use of vibrato and the occurrence of shifts. As the left hand plays a less active role in supporting the violin, slightly more weight on the chin rest will stabilize the violin as it rests on the collarbone and the shoulder pad.
The violin will be stable with three contact points. Active support shifts between the left hand and the jaw. The contact with the collarbone remains constant.
A word of caution here: it is common to use a shoulder rest or pad that is too thick, thus elevating the back of the violin off the collarbone. The violin is then positioned like a teeter totter with the chin on one end, the left hand on the other end and the shoulder rest serving as the pivot point. This arrangement is very unstable. If the jaw is too heavy the scroll tends to pop up. The left hand is constantly adjusting on the fingerboard against varying pressure from the jaw. This results in increasing tension in the player’s neck and jaw as well as the left hand as the player seeks to provide a necessary degree of stability. I believe that this misplacement of shoulder rest or pad has also contributed to the erroneous conclusion that player’s with long necks need higher shoulder rests.
Using collarbone, jaw, and shoulder pad frees the left hand. Using collarbone, thumb and base of first finger, frees the head and reliance on the shoulder pad. The violin must always rest on the collarbone (or the clothing covering it, or a chamois skin for comfort), with varying degrees of support from the shoulder pad and the left hand. The roles of the jaw, the shoulder pad, and the left hand vary constantly with playing, and without undue reliance on any one or two of the three contact points the violin can be held comfortably for long periods of playing.
Closing comments:
- The shoulder rest or pad should provide friction so that the violin does not slide or rotate off the shoulder.
- Even with the use of a shoulder pad the violin will tend to pivot to the right. Gentle support from the base of the first finger will rotate the violin back to the left.
- Most shoulder rests fix the violin in one place too rigidly. When any part of the body is held immobile for very long, pain and stiffness are the result. The violin must be allowed to tilt more or less as the player desires. The violin must also be allowed to pivot both further back than normal and more in front than normal. This allows the player to adjust to different playing circumstances and prevents stiffness from the left arm and shoulder being held in a fixed position.
- Shoulder rests that are contoured or curved over the shoulder are designed to keep the violin from slipping off the shoulder and to prevent the violin from pivoting. Unfortunately, these designs also prevent the healthy and normal motions of the violin around the player’s body.
- Most, if not all, shoulder rests tilt the violin too far, lowering the E string. This exaggerates the tendency of the violin to slide off the shoulder. It also results in a twisting of the player’s neck in an attempt to “pin” the violin to the upper chest as it slides off the shoulder. This results in a counter pressure by the player’s left shoulder and back. Playing with this degree of left sided tension is difficult and fatiguing.
- The exaggerated tilt of the violin results in the bow having to be “pressed” sideways into the strings instead of resting on top of the strings assisted by gravity.
- The inappropriate hesitancy of some players to using any form of shoulder rest or pad will often result in scrunching up the shoulder and back to provide additional support when shifting and using certain styles of vibrato.
- Rigid shoulder rests have minimal but varied effects on the violin’s sound. Large sponges or pads of higher density foam held in contact with the back of the instrument adversely muffle the sound. The use of low density foam padding held in minimal contact with the back of the instrument does not seem to adversely affect the sound.
- It is the teacher’s responsibility to fit the chin rest and shoulder pad and to teach the student to properly hold the violin with the left hand, shoulder and jaw. The teacher must ensure that the left hand is properly positioned and is being used correctly to support the violin as well as shift, play notes and vibrate. Undue reliance on any single aspect of the entire system of support will cause tension and pain.
- Finally, the teacher and player must be aware that physical growth of younger students, changing muscle mass, significant changes in playing style and maturity, number of hours played and changes in standing or sitting posture all may necessitate changes to the chin rest and/or shoulder padding.