Hi, I've just joined the forum. I'm an adult beginner cellist (and very excited about i!) My daughters play violin and cello. The 9 year old is just coming up to her grade 1 exam and has been advised by her teacher to use a chin rest. She plays for about 5 hours a week at roughly 40 minute stretches and was starting to find it difficult to keep the violin in position. However, with the chin rest she's finding it hard to control the bow. She loves playing but is finding this rather frustrating. Any advice? Thanks.

Are we talking about a Chinrest or a shoulder-rest ? It seems odd that the violin had no chinrest to begin with.

If the teacher thinks that a shoulder-rest is necessary, it will take some adjusting to - but be aware that they are not at all a necessity like some teachers seem to think. I play without either shoulder or chinrest and get by just fine.

That said, your daughter may really need one if she has a really long neck - it just seems odd to me that the teacher would recommend it right now just before an exam - if it were a long neck problem, usually she would have noticed it right at the beginning.

Anyhow, if your daughter is having problems holding the violin correctly without it and you trust the teacher's advice, then put it on and she'll eventually get used to playing with it - but it will change how she bows for a while because the violin will be higher and therefore the right arm won't be as relaxed as it was before - until she gets used to it and relearns the new bow positions for each string.

Allan

Ooops - I meant shoulder rest! Thanks for that. Sounds like she just needs to get used to the new position.

That explains why I've suddenly gone all scrapey and scratchy after fitting a shoulder rest, rather than using my trusty folded duster! Might have to do some fiddling with it!

Both my daughters found adapting to a shoulder rest took a little time. ( 2-3 weeks), and found them a little uncomfortable at first. One uses a Kun, the other a Wolf. These two appear to be the most popular, although whichever used, it comes down to preference, neither is better than the other and both adjust height wise. The Wolf was useful though as it adapted from a 3/4 size to a 4/4 size so economically a good choice.

You might want to look back at this post and the thread that goes with it for extra info.

http://forums.abrsm.org/index.php?s=&s...st&p=704407

Thanks for this - this was worth checking out, and to those others who've replied. We have abandoned the shoulder rest for the moment as it was causing too much frustration but hope to talk to the violin teacher about it this weekend and try again. Bad timing to have introduced it at the start of the summer break. Hope she can get somewhere with it in the coming weeks as its threatening to spoil her enjoyment of playing.

If your daughter's used to using no shoulder rest and is finding using one uncomfortable, but just wants a bit of support, check out the playonair shoulder rests. I use one and it provides just enough support without me feeling too stuck in one position. It's basically an inflatable pad, under £20 I think.

Thanks for this suggestion. I've been looking at them online and one site says you still have to support the violin with your arm. Has anyone got experience of using the playonair/other inflatable shoulder rest?

There's nothing wrong with supporting the violin with your arm. Your left hand does have a supporting role to play and all players who play with no shoulder rest will tell you this - the problem is that people are so quick to recommend them as standard that almost everyone uses them and nowadays it's seen as desirable to be able to support the instrument with your head (don't even get me started as to how bad that is for your posture and back!)

She may need a shoulder rest and she may not - the majority of players probably don't need them - only those with very long necks truly need them, but that doesn't stop people from using them anyway.

It's not part of the instrument!

Allan

Thanks, thats reassuring!

Yeah completely agree. All the playonair does is provide a bit of padding for your collar bone - you're mainly suporting the violin with your left arm and your chin (although not pressing down heavily otherwise you tense up, and absolutely don't press down with your jaw). And because there isn't something holding your violin up for you, it reminds you to do the work and have good posture to hold it up.