How to properly hold a violin

So how do you properly hold a violin?
When you hold a violin there are three basic points of support: two of the most important are the left side of the collar bone and the shoulder. The left hand also supports the violin and constitutes the third point of support called the auxiliary. The violin rests on the collar bone and the shoulder. The jaw can gently rest on the chinrest providing natural weight between the collarbone and the chinrest, preventing the instrument from sliding off the shoulder. Many players still struggle with incorrect posture and feel uncomfortable when playing. This often results in different kinds of injuries or ineffectiveness in practice because our muscles should be relaxed and free, focused, and ready to respond. If they happen to be stiff and tense, it will stop them from working efficiently and quickly. Even if any of your muscles are tense, that tension will spread over your body preventing your practice from being productive, efficient, and skillful. There is no worse scenario than practicing with tension for many hours, playing the same music and making the same mistakes over and over again, and not realizing why it’s happening. Don’t get frustrated, it’s just your posture that prevents you from playing better. 

So, why do some young beginners have nearly perfect posture and technique, while others with years of practice and experience still struggle with old habits and lack of ease in playing? The important thing to realize is that everyone has a different body and we should consider an individual approach in setting up the violin including the shoulder rest, chin rest and left, and right-hand mechanics. For example, one student can find a shoulder rest best suited for his posture when another student will have to use a shoulder pad with an individually fitted chinrest.

Violinists come in all shapes and sizes, and what is most significant is the shape and placement of the body parts, that are most crucial to violin playing.

The chinrest

The chinrest was invented by Louis Spohr, a German violinist, conductor, and composer, in the early 19th century, around 1820.

When buying a chinrest, you should look to fill the space between the chin and the collarbone. The chinrest has two functions: to fill the gap between the violin and the chin and to protect the instrument and its varnish ( finish) from our sweat and continuous contact with the skin.  

More details on using the chinrest

The chinrest should be tall enough to fill the gap between our jaw and the violin so our head and neck can stay balanced and relaxed. The height of the chinrest should not conflict with the shoulder rest because it will move the violin away from the collar bone which will raise the violin and cause discomfort. The head stabilizes the violin and gently sits on the chinrest, while the shoulder pad fills the space between your shoulder and chin, securing the violin from slipping and pivoting too easily.  It’s important to remember that no pressure should be applied towards the chinrest.

How to choose the shoulder rest. The shoulder pad

 Shoulder rest or a shoulder pad should fit between the back of the violin and the left shoulder to slightly fill up that space. The head stabilizes the violin and gently sits on the chinrest, shoulder rest, or a shoulder pad fills up the space between you should and the violin so the instrument is secured from slipping and pivoting too easily. . No pressure should be applied towards the chinrest.

If the shoulder pad cannot fill the gap or the gap is too high because of your body type, then you can use the shoulder rest which you can easily adjust to the right height. There are many types of shoulder rests and shoulder pads. I particularly like “ The magic pad ”. “KUN” or “BONMUSICA” shoulder rests are good choices if you decide to go with the shoulder rest. Usually, it takes time and effort to find the right setup, so don’t feel confused or discouraged if you are not comfortable with the current one and want to switch to another. As for me, I prefer a shoulder pad, because it gives me more freedom and flexibility in holding the instrument. One additional advantage of a shoulder pad is that it helps my instrument to sound brighter and more vibrant, dampening the sound much less than the shoulder rest. On the other hand, if you use a bigger shoulder pad with high-density foam that has substantial contact with the back of the violin it is likely to dampen the sound even more than a shoulder rest.

The nice thing about a shoulder pad is that it allows you to feel freer so you can effortlessly move the violin to the left or to the right, up or down, and be more flexible unlike the shoulder rest, which usually locks the instrument in the same position.