JAVS Spring 2025

for people with less extreme jaw lines. If you don’t have a very pronounced jaw line or very thin face, maybe pull out your side mounted options. • Neck Length : Players with longer necks should look for taller chinrests or shoulder rests to avoid hunching. Taller chinrests like SAS, Berber, or Kreddle can provide adequate support. On the shoulder rest side, models like BonMusica, Mach One, or “The Slipper” are excellent for adding height. If you are someone with a longer neck, you do not want to be reaching for your instrument all the time, curving your neck and upper back bones to feel secure. I would suggest looking for either taller chin or shoulder rest options, not both. You don’t want too much height and overcorrect the problem. I usually suggest adding height from the top of the instrument and then see if additional height is needed on the bottom. I had one student that tried out an extra tall Berber model and fell in love with it. She was a violinist, so she wanted more height than her instrument was giving her. She decided to get a shorter shoulder rest to pair with it, a foam pad if I recall. • Shoulder Shape : A player’s shoulder structure can affect how well a rest fits and whether it restricts motion. It’s important to avoid rests that press into bones or nerves, as this can lead to discomfort or injury over time. The shoulder offers a wide range of motion, and we need to keep this as free as possible when choosing a shoulder rest. Your acromion is the bone on the outer part of the shoulder and connects with the clavicle as the bone moves towards the sternum and rib cage. This area can offer support for the instrument, but it also can become heavily restricted if the shoulder rest presses into the acromion or any of the joints or nerves in that area. Any constant pressure can result in a limited range of motion and/or injury down the line. Be very mindful when trying shoulder rests and pay close attention to how your shoulder feels when playing a wide range of repertoire–especially passages that include a lot of shifting. This will help you identify problems a lot faster. If you find that you are constantly adjusting your shoulder rest or that it moves when

Figure 2. The anatomy of the shoulder and upper-arm system. 6

you play, you may need some adjustments, and you can try changing around your current equipment first. Experiment with adjusting your shoulder rest from the standard perpendicular-to-the-instrument placement to a more slanted placement which will change where your rest and instrument sit completely. The second option is to buy a few foam pads to attach to parts of your rest to make the edges more comfortable. I would suggest the red circle foam pads that come in different sizes. These are small and very adaptable to various needs. If these adjustments don’t work, look for other options that might fix the problems your current shoulder rest is inducing. If you feel that your rest always hits your bones, joints or nerves, you may want to try a foam pad or something actually less form fitting so that it doesn’t touch as much of your shoulder. I will finish by saying that I would sometimes see students a few times during their undergrad. Not only is it ok to switch what you are using, but it is completely normal. Your body can and will change over time, making your

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 41, No. 1, Spring 2025

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