On the mysterious ability to play the violin without a shoulder rest and chinrest

Francesco Maria Veracini (1690 – 1768)

One of my students wrote this blog, and I find it so interesting and encouraging that I simply have to share it!

Learning the Baroque violin! It had always been a kind of dream of mine, since for many years I have mostly listened to classical music on historical instruments. However, my own musical practice continued to take place on a modern violin. On the one hand, that is how I learned as a child, and on the other, it was simply due to the opportunities for playing together—amateur Baroque musicians are rather rare in the countryside.

Three years ago, the opportunity unexpectedly arose to take part in an amateur chamber music course for Baroque instruments, and I spontaneously threw myself into the adventure. A friendly violin maker lent me a Baroque violin, and I had already owned a Baroque bow for some time. Of course, I attached my chinrest to the violin—and the shoulder rest went into the case as well. Playing without these aids, like the professionals…? Unthinkable!!!

The course inspired me so much that I really wanted to continue with lessons. It also seemed like a good opportunity to address problems I had with the thumb of my left hand. According to my orthopaedist, I had developed arthritis in the base joint, and it often caused me pain when I played for longer periods. So I hoped that relearning on the Baroque violin might also help solve these thumb problems! In my first private lesson, it became clear that I would have to completely rethink my posture—and that, of course, the chinrest and shoulder rest would have to go!

The following weeks and months with this “naked” violin, and without the beautiful sounds of the ensemble from the course, were discouraging. The instrument simply would not rest on my collarbone the way my teacher’s violin seemed to do so naturally and convincingly. Armed only with a rather ridiculous chinrest substitute—a thin piece of leather—it wobbled with every bow stroke like a little pig’s tail! For weeks I shifted it around on my shoulder, moving it millimetre by millimetre along the collarbone towards the sternum: higher, lower, more angled, straighter, to the left, to the right, down towards the armpit, chin to the left of the tailpiece, to the right, on the tailpiece, more to the front, more to the side, closer to the ear… Nothing—absolutely nothing—brought stability or security!!

And then there was the completely different sound of gut strings, which react just as mercilessly to untrained bowing as the chinrest- and shoulder-rest-free violin does to a tense and confused shoulder position—not to mention the left arm trying to hold everything and soon beginning to protest! I felt like a complete beginner on an instrument I had been playing for more than 45 years!!

My teacher suggested that I practise as much as possible by gently wedging the violin between my neck and a wall or shelf, so that my left hand—and especially my thumb—could relax, and I could gradually develop a sense of how it might eventually feel. This brought some relief, as I could at least practise some repertoire this way! At the same time, I studied how others do it. There are countless videos of Baroque violinists on YouTube—and everyone does it slightly differently! One particularly interesting solution was a violinist who simply tied her instrument to her neck with a beautiful silk scarf threaded under the tailpiece. She played beautifully!

Leopold Mozart’s violin treatise also shows, in three engravings, how one should—or should not—hold the violin. Unfortunately, the differences are not entirely clear to me. The gentlemen depicted also wear elegant hairstyles and thick coats with large collars and lace scarves, which could almost pass as shoulder rests! When I told my teacher that I was considering buying a coat with a large collar, she pointed out that there are also historical images of violinists with low-cut dresses, where the violin rests naturally on bare shoulders and necks. In any case, the shoulder rest only became common in the 20th century, and chinrests were not always used either.

In other words: the “normal” way of playing the violin is without both—not the other way around!

Long story short: my body has now found the best place for the violin. With less demanding repertoire, it rests largely securely against my neck, and my left arm has developed enough strength to support it for longer periods. When shifting downwards, I briefly clamp the violin between chin and tailpiece (it usually works!), and here lies the key point: the violin sits exactly where this brief support works best—between collarbone and chin. How convenient that this is also where it wobbles the least!

The path to this point was to be patient, not give up, and slowly develop an inner image that the violin does not need to be clamped between shoulder and chin, but can largely rest on the neck. Everything can—and must—be much more relaxed: the left hand on the fingerboard, the pressure of the fingers on the strings, the bow hold, the pressure of the bow—everything can be flexible, responsive, and adapt playfully to each situation.

For me, this took time (almost three years—but I must admit I don’t practise all that much), because the old posture with shoulder rest and chinrest had been ingrained for so many years and gave a sense of security—albeit with increasing tension and problems…

My conclusion is: there is probably no standardised position for the Baroque violin on the body—it is a very individual process of “finding one’s place.” And it is always a wonder how the body, through conscious observation and imagination, as well as unconscious processes, is able to learn and solve problems that we patiently present to it over time. I now find this absolutely fascinating!

I am really enjoying it now. I even play my modern violin mostly without these aids—and my thumb no longer hurts. 🎻