Adjust Your Violin Shoulder Rest

[@doninarabia]

Looked at half a dozen videos on shoulder rests. This is the best by far.

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

Thank you so much!

[@Son2nos2]

This is genuinely brilliant I have relieved shoulder and neck pain that I’ve had for years and my vibrato is far better also as a result

[@barrettsyl2077]

Fantastic explanation for the shoulder rest. Thank you.

[@adventuredenali]

This was incredibly helpful! Thank you!!

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

You're welcome!

[@1sevillana]

I subscribe to your channel because this detailed and helpful information! thanks !

[@gjram8807]

I was searching for a good video on shoulder rest. I always find that I've neck pain at the end of my practice session.. I now know that it's because of the height difference in shoulder rest placement. Thank you immensely for this video!

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

You're so welcome! I'm glad it was helpful!

[@RS-gm1qb]

Best concise explanation on how to adjust a shoulder rest that I saw so far. Thank you :)

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

I'm so glad it was helpful!

[@Isabellas.Geigenglück]

Your video was very helpful and you encouraged me to find a better adjustment for my shoulderrest. Playing is much more comfortable now for me 💃🎻 Thank you so much ❤

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

Great! That's a win!

[@rootsandstarslodge]

Thank you for this!

[@colletter9900]

Great instruction on how to adjust the shoulder rest…best I’ve seen. Very useful. Thanks.

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

Glad it was helpful!

[@hyperdevil7026]

Thank you so much . It was very helpful.

[@Khemani_RL]

This video was very helpful! Thank you so much 🙌

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

You're very welcome!

[@thomasre2125]

Thanks for the excitement advice and instructions

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

You're so welcome! I hope it's helpful!

[@sararampton654]

Thank you

[@erik45105]

Thanks

[@---_277]

Very clear, thankyou..

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

You're welcome!

[@paddlepower888]

I only had a Bon Musica shoulder rest, which kept the violin from swinging away but it still slid toward the end of my shoulder as I played. I made a loop of elastic that ran around my neck and over the feet of the shoulder rest. That worked until one day I felt great pressure and pain on my collarbone that probably came from me pressing my chin down too hard on the chin rest. I got a new center mounted chin rest-that helped, but eventually pain began in my sternocleidomastoid muscle from my clavicle to behind my left ear. It hurt where the shoulder rest made contact and didn't subside after mutiple adjustments. I made a violin sling that keeps the violin from moving to the right as well as keeping it close to my neck so I could shift up and down. I don’t have a shoulder rest on my Violin now. I try to stop playing every few minutes to ensure that I’m not pressing on my chin rest and to tell myself to play more relaxed. Instead of playing badly with pain, I now play badly without pain. 😊

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

🤣Sometimes it is definitely a lot of trail and error to get the right set-up. Sounds like you found the solution!

[@debracranwell6499]

Thank you for the tutorial on adjusting shoulder rests. It is very helpful. Would you please tell me what brand chin rest you have on your violin in this tutorial? Thank you, Deb

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

Hi Deb, I'm glad the information is helpful. Unfortunately I don't know the brand of chin rest. It was on the violin when I purchased it and there are no markings. So sorry!

[@alanhsimette287]

Thank you very much, it is much more comfortable now. I have a long neck, I'm 6'2. Do you think I should buy a bigger shoulder rest? I'm using the one that comes with the Fiddlerman violin.

[@alanhsimette287]

For bigger I mean taller.

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

I have an average neck but I use a Wolf Forte Secondo with the feet extended quite a bit. So yes, if you think you have a longer neck, you would probably enjoy the extra height (and stability) from something like Wolfe Forte Secondo.

[@alanhsimette287]

@@MeadowlarkViolin Thank you for your reply! Yess I got the Wolf Forte Secondo, now just trying several adjusts to find what's the best.

[@kkaminsky1]

What kind of sponge is that and where can I find one?

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

It's just a red makeup sponge. You should be able to find one at any beauty supply place.

[@kkaminsky1]

Thank you so much! My setup is almost perfect now. Just need to try the sponge. The video was so helpful. I've almost completely gotten rid of the terrible pain I was having!

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

That's wonderful!@@kkaminsky1

[@podobunny1]

this video helped the most of the rest to be honest !! 🩷 but it still hurts to play and i have to hold up my shoulder or squeeze my neck. i've been playing for 7 seven years and i am not a slow learner, but i don't know what to do. i use the brand everest, the shoulder rest fits the violin, and the grippers are fully extended. yet i still have to look down to play, or have tension to play upright. do i have a long neck or something? i'm 5' 4" and really thin for my age, does that have something to do with it? i would ask a private teacher but i don't have one anymore for financial reasons, and i don't think my school orchestra teacher would have the best answers. any tips would be appreciated!!

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

I'm also 5'4" and I never thought I had a tall neck because I've always thought of myself as being short! I used Everest for a long time but was never comfortable. I switched to a Wolf Forte Secondo because the feet can really extend and they're sturdy. I used it with the feet fully extended and I was finally comfortable. A few months later I switched to a taller chinrest so I could decrease the height on the shoulder rest feet so it' not so wobbly. Hope that helps! I guess the lesson is, short people can still have long necks!

[@usernamemykel]

Informative video, thanks! QUESTION: I find it annoying that my jaw feels the weight of the violin through the chinrest - how to remedy? (Using a KUN shoulder rest with a Guarneri chinrest, BTW) Thank you!

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

There could be a couple things going on. Perhaps something with your setup is making you squeeze the chinrest with your jaw, making you feel the weight of the violin more than you should. Or you could be squeezing and pressing down on your own without realizing it. I would suggest to keep trying different setups. You might be able to tweak on thing and have the problem go away. you can also buy little cushions for your chinrest which might help as well. Hope that helps!

[@creativelyclaire3386]

Hi! This video is very concise and helpful. :) Recently I've been doing a lot of experimenting with chin and shoulder rests. I've finally found a shoulder rest, but am still searching for a better chin rest. What do you use?

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

The chin rest that came with my violin always suited me fine so I never changed it. It's been years since I bought the violin and the chin rest has no markings so I'm not sure! If I were to get another chin rest, I'd look at Frisch and Denig. Top of the line and lots of options! www.chinrests.com

[@creativelyclaire3386]

@@MeadowlarkViolin Ok, thank you so much! I will look into that. I like the one that came on my violin too, it's just had a lot of wear. And I have no clue what model it is either! So I can relate, lol. :)

[@amandapanda3274]

Does any shoulder rest that’s adjustable fit your instrument because I am trinna buy one and I need to know pls let me know.

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

No, not every shoulder rest will fit your violin. The size of your shoulder rest should match the size of your violin. If you have a full size or 4/4 size violin then you need a 4/4 size shoulder rest. If you have a smaller size violin, like a 3/4 size then you need a 3/4 size shoulder rest. Some shoulder rests are adjustable for several sizes. You just need to make sure the size of your violin is one of the adjustable sizes. Hope that helps!

[@huiyublue]

Hello! Mine won’t fit and it keeps falling off- I don’t know why?? The brand that it can from is EVEREST.

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

You may need to get a smaller size. Or your shoulder rest may be adjustable to a smaller size. Look at where the feet screw into the shoulder rest. Are there more holes? If so, you can move the feet closer together so it is more tight-fitting on your violin. Hope that helps!

[@artviolino7251]

❤😊🤗🤗🎶🎶🎵🎵🎵🎶🎶🎵🎻🎻🎻

[@jakewatson668]

Respectfully, I disagree. In my opinion, the violin should go on the collar bone. The space underneath is shoulder rest. The space above (if any) is chin rest. Otherwise, I enjoyed the video!😊

[@MeadowlarkViolin]

Very good point! I do actually agree with you. My method can lead to a very tall shoulder rest if you have a long neck. When teaching brand new beginners, I usually start out with this method as it can be overwhelming for someone who just bought a violin to start thinking about looking for another chin rest (if that's what they need). It usually helps the student find a relatively comfortable solution for starters. I think I need to make a Part 2, in which I go more into detail with your method!

[@raoultak]

The best would be NOT to use a shoulder rest and hold your violin correctly.

[@huiyublue]

Huh? I believe it would be a lot more comfortable using a shoulder rest. Nothing’s wrong with it really. But it depends on what you want to do.

[@joshwoods7641]

Very helpful, thanks for this.