We're thankfully no where near the fires, but we do know many who are being impacted. It's very sad.

Absolutely. The chin rests that come with violins are usually terrible, and when I was a kid just starting out, we just got whatever the cheapest shoulder rest was. We didn't know. So many people don't know they can actually find something comfortable! It's not uncommon for me to spend the first few lessons working out a good chin and shoulder rest combo with my students, and then we sometimes have to circle back for little tweaks later on.

Definitely. You're welcome!

I've had a couple students over the years do what you're doing. And really, the chin rest is a fairly "new" invention. For a deep dive, check out Stanley Ritchie's book "Before the Chinrest: A Violinist's Guide to the Mysteries of Pre-Chinrest Technique and Style".

Yes! Hope to return to play there for you again!

That's a good question. While I've never tried the exercise with a freshly haired, non-rosined bow, I imagine it would be harder to feel the grip. That said, I don't automatically rosin before I play, waiting instead until I feel I need to (usually every other day), and haven't noticed any additional challenge with keeping the bow straight with a more lightly rosined bow. I know I need rosin when I find that I'm starting to need to dig in to get sound or when response to articulations feels delayed, so I feel that rosin affects more the pressure component of tone (assuming of course that there's at least some rosin on the bow!). We could probably also talk about new hair vs old hair, which may also make a slight difference. Like needing rosin, when my bow hair is starting to wear out I find I'm digging in more and it takes more to get the same response. In general though, a slipping bow is primarily an angle problem, caused either by a bow that's set crooked on the strings to begin with, or that travels crooked because our joints naturally move in circular motions and without bowing mechanics that cohesively allow our joints to work together to draw straight strokes, all our strokes will be crooked, at least at some point during a stroke. This technique helps us feel for a straight bow and hopefully make corrections to our mechanics long before the point where going off track becomes obvious to our eyes and ears. We can easily overpower the bow, so hopefully we can use the technique to sensitize to the feeling of a straight bow, and through it, also clean up any mechanics like stiff bow fingers or a stiff wrist that cause us to veer off track.

@@laurelthomsen Thanks for the explanation.

Could certainly be, or a shoulder rest that's just set too high (vs a lifted chin rest) causing instability and leading to neck tension, or a chin rest that keeps slipping out or otherwise feeling insecure.

Great to hear you found my video helpful. Thanks for stopping by!

They aren't cheap, but you might consider a Kreddle chinrest. They have a chin plate that seems really similar to the SAS, but are adjustable in all directions, including the tilt towards the player vs the violin. Let me know how it goes!

Thank you, yes, the varnish has just aged that way, and it's not so apparent in the video, but it's also crackled. It's a John Harrison from the 80s and when I finally met him a few years ago he said he was experimenting with varnishes back then and a lot of the instruments from that time have had a similar result over time. Unusual for sure, but while he was already someone who had won awards for tone etc., if anything I think the tone is even better, more open maybe?

And also no chinrest needed. Otherwise you can’t play truer violin

I'm so happy to hear this has been helpful! Thanks for letting me know :)

Yes!

Well okay then. Howdy from Wolseley.

We were just thinking about you guys! Someone in your audience was nice enough to buy us an amp cover and have it surprise shipped to our house. We were appreciating it recently, and remembering the nice time we had playing your place!

@@laurelthomsen How nice!

So glad to hear the video helped. Thanks for watching!

Glad you got some questions answered. Yes, I find there is a lot of emphasis on the bowing wrist out there, but I find it's really the fingers that need to get moving (either passively or actively depending on the situation). Tense fingers and knuckles create stiff wrists. Wrist's are rarely the issue.

I came from your podcast, I didn’t even know you had a KZbin channel :D

@@theRosiestEver Awesome! Welcome to the channel too!

Oh definitely! That's a lot of space your poor neck has to crunch down into otherwise.

Glad to hear it. Best wishes on your violin journey!

Glad to hear it helped you! Thanks for your kind comment!

Made by Northern California maker John Harrison in the 80s.

I'm so glad to hear! Happy practicing!

That's never good. Do you use a shoulder rest? Or that's happening even without one?

@@laurelthomsen yes I have pirastro luna $250. I just now went back to my old one that looks a lot like the Hamburg . All of this might be a result of me squeezing everything I don't relax my shoulder. I don't relax my chin I squeeze my thumb !!! I just brought my shoulder rest down because the chin rest I just put on is a bit higher. I'm so desperately trying to relax my shoulder and my chin and stop squeezing my thumb. I'm at the point where if I do not do this I will be stuck at this level forever.

@@DivaDeb1234 Yeah, the luna only goes so low... Craning your head up and over isn't good, and especially if the back of the violin is hovering above your collarbone I'd definitely see about adjusting it lower or switch to a lower profile shoulder rest. And left hand gripping often has at least a bit of a psychological component - we're nervous about playing perfectly and need to address that maybe, but regardless, it sounds like there are some setup factors to work through.

@@laurelthomsen so true. It's taking me a long time to figure this out. It's probably due to multiple reasons .

Have you ever tried a Brandt chinrest? From a couple of your videos it seems like you have a defined chin, and the Brandt has some prominent sloping yet doesn't add as much height as a Hamburg or Teka would. I'd probably start there. They're not as easy to come by, but through a quick search it seems like there are a few options out there for sourcing one. Let me know how it goes!

You're definitely not alone! It can take a lot of experimentation sometimes.

@@laurelthomsen Me too

Thanks for sharing your setup! I hadn't heard of the EFEL before. It does look really bendable. It's so nice that more manufacturers are recognizing how important personalization is with these rests.

Oh wow! It sounds like you really need some height for a longer neck! You might try a Kreddle chinrest? It's similar to the Wittner but can go a LOT higher, which might allow you to bring the shoulder rest foot down? It comes with two chinrest plates, one that's contoured more like the Wittner and another that's a bit flatter.

Thanks for sharing your setup. The Bon Musica works well for a lot of people.