I have what appears to be a Guanarius chinrest which, probably because of my inexperience, at times seems to slip from my full beard. How, apart from annoying my local shop can I find a rest to suit me and will give me a firmer grip. To be honest, I don`t want to play, I just want to be able to hold it under my chin with no hands.

mercy, have mercy on Him God cause the poor sheep lost his way...

let us pray...

Guaneri rests seem to be standard issue these days and they are a pain in the anatomy!!!

I`ve got a couple of alternatives in stock I could send you on approval but not a vast selection, perhaps that`s something we should start to stock. I don`t suppose your teacher has any hanging around that you could try? It`s the sort of thing teachers do end up collecting and so worth asking.

Liz

For "no hands" probably somethig fairly deep like a teka pattern would work. I can actually dance round the room with a 16 inch viola under my chin with no hands (and no there is no video available!!) thanks to one teacher i had who insisted i learnt to hold it like that.

lzi

Thanks Liz

The also ever helpful (that`s terrible English but, you know what I mean) Cardiff Violins (I picked up my re-hair today) showed me a deeper rest and I could almost hold with it. With a Wolf shoulder rest it was like holding a feather so I can practice with and without.

This is one thing that worries me..
I have to really pull down my head to hold it without hands...is that normal? I mean, it`s suposed to use so much strength to hold the violin, or should I reconsider a new chin rest?

And last one, how much effort do you have to use to hold your violins

Thanks

I need a bit of effort to hold mine in place, but much, MUCH less with the shoulder rest (I was surprised at how much easier it is - although I don`t find the shoulder rest very comfortable in general).

I have a rather small chinrest on my new violin that I was skeptical about...until I started playing - it is SO comfortable. I was really surprised because I assumed the bigger ones would be better. Not so! Maybe the answer is to just try a bunch of different types/brands until you find the right one. If you`re playing for hours a day, it would really be worth it.

Coco

I will find out what rest the shop are fitting and come back to you. With a Wolf shoulder rest I can hold it with no pressure or problem.

I`ve put Flesch style chinrests on my violins, as I found them the most comfortable. Your chin sits directly above the tailpiece, the only logical place for it to be in my opinion.

The newer style Flesch w/o a hump on top is not much bigger but a little deeper than the cup on a Guarnerius type. An older one I have is somewhat larger, still comfortable but heavier.

Because the chinrest is raised over the tailpiece, I need less height in the shoulder rest.

Coco

The chap in the shop told me the chinrest he is going to fit but, for reasons that will become obvious, I forgot. I have done some searching on the web for an approximation of what I thought heard. Eventually I found it so, he is fitting a Morawetz. With a Wolf shoulder rest I can hold it with no pressure.

Thank you Jeff!!

I think I should definitively search for a new chinrest...I have a wolf shoulder rest too, but I`ve found out that when I want to change to position 3, I really have to "help" keeping my violin in proper position with my left hand, and so, I can´t do it quickly enough or without sliding the finger across the string... and that´s very bad...

I´ll check what the stores have and tell you the results