The shoulder rest is perhaps the most common accessory seen on all violinists and violists of today’s musical scene.
Invented somewhere around the middle of the 20th century, it is a contraption made with either wood, plastic, metal or even carbon fiber. They are all commonly attached to the lower bout of the instrument underneath the chinrest. Some violinists that do not attach a rest to their instrument opt to use shoulder pads to prop up the instrument.
Today, some of the world’s greatest virtuosos play with a shoulder rest (James Ehnes and Maxim Vengerov) and some have a workaround without one (Augustin Hadelich slips a pad underneath his shirt).
(Jascha Heifetz, violin balanced on top of his collarbone with no shoulder rest)
But with such an invention, there is bound to be pushback from some top level violinists. Some teachers have likened the device akin to training wheels on a bicycle. The greatest fiddler ever, Jascha Heifetz, was famous for saying to a young student who came to him with a complaint:
Student: ‘Mr. Heifetz, I can’t play without a shoulder rest!’
Heifetz: ‘Take up the cello instead then!! You can’t make a proper sound (with a shoulder rest) because your elbow is flying in the wrong direction!’
Heifetz was not wrong in his personal assessment of such a device. After all, he commanded an unmatched quality of playing without the aid of a shoulder rest, and personally taught (or forced) his own students to play without one.
One can agree that the small side effect of having a shoulder rest attached to the violin is that the instrument’s natural sound will be affected by the clamping of an external device to its body. This does not, however, diminish the playing standards set by some of the current living virtuosos. So the choice of using one (or some replacement pad) boils down to a mixture of playing technique, comfort and the relative frame of the player.
(James Ehnes, violin placed on top of the collarbone with shoulder rest propping up the instrument)
To look back in the past, all the great virtuosi, orchestral violinists and violists were playing their instruments without the aid of a rest. The head of the player would be anchoring the instrument at one point with the chinrest, but the back of the instrument would only be in contact with the collarbone of the player.
This gave rise to a certain level of freedom in the movement of the instrument where the player could pivot on their collarbone how much closer to the center they wanted or if they wanted to go more leftwards.
Not to mention, the violin was completely unhindered in its sound production where no external device was affixed to the body of the instrument. It results in a richer and more ‘natural’ sound of the instrument. But then, the role of propping up the instrument would fall completely on the left hand, which made shifting up and down the fingerboard a cumbersome task. The strain of holding the instrument would also be more evident in the neck as more muscle activation are needed to make up for the lack of stability accorded with a shoulder rest.
The science of holding the violin
There was a study on 15 experienced violinists from Chicago carried out to measure the muscle activity during the holding of the instrument. 4 particular muscles of the upper extremity were studied, namely:
- Biceps
- Trapezius (upper back)
- Anterior deltoid (front shoulder)
- Sternocleidomastoid (side of the neck)
The study did indeed find notable differences in muscle activation with and without a shoulder rest. Without a shoulder rest, the neck muscles (sternocleidomastoid) are more engaged to hold the violin in position. This could imply a potential risk of neck pain in the long run as the neck needs to be fully engaged in holding the instrument all the time.
Conversely, the study showed a greater activation of the shoulder (anterior deltoid) with the presence of a shoulder rest. This might account for some of the occasional complaints from active musicians that they have some form of left shoulder pain. The stability granted with a rest did indeed help to relieve the burden on the neck muscles from holding the instrument. This must mean that the shoulder rest shifts the burden of holding the instrument away from the neck onto the entire shoulder and arm thus contributing to the greater activation of the deltoid muscle.
Some limitations of this study was that the type of shoulder rest used for each instrumentalist was not standardized to one particular model or brand. As there are many shoulder rest products out there which differ greatly in materials used, the overall weight of each product is different and as such affects the balance of holding the instrument differently. A heavier shoulder rest like the one from BonMusica will dramatically increase the weight of the instrument which may end up causing the player to use more effort to hold the instrument.
[View the research article here]
Do shoulder rests really affect the violin?
There was a study done by the European Physical Journal to investigate the inner workings of a violin.
One particular section on the vibrations of the instrument, where the fingerboard and chin rest were taken into consideration. It is believed that the vibrations mainly happen mostly on the top and back of the violin which contribute to the instrument’s acoustic richness, while the fingerboard and chin rest are not significant factors in the violin’s sound as they are located at the edge of the violin’s main body.
[View the main article here]
On observation, one can also conclude that since the shoulder rest is attached to the edge of the lower back of the instrument, it may have little disturbance on the vibrational properties of the violin. However, the study did not take into consideration how the vibrations will be affected when attaching a shoulder rest as it was merely a study to investigate and further research on the differences between fine cremonese instruments and cheaper value violins. So the conclusions on how shoulder rests affect the sound of the violin can only be observed via ear; one must play their instrument with and without a shoulder rest to notice the differences in sound.
So, do we still need a shoulder rest?
Taking into consideration the playing comfort of the player and the potential for a shoulder rest as a device that affects violin sound, a shoulder rest might possibly be a beneficial aid especially for most professional players that spend many hours playing and practicing in their line of work.
However, one must consider the material and weight of the shoulder rest that will have an impact on holding the instrument in the long run. Additionally, they must make it a point not to set the rest too tight or it may risk either scraping off some varnish on the instrument or gripping the instrument too tightly that the vibrational properties are dampened.
Currently, one of the most expensive shoulder rest systems is the integrated chin rest and shoulder rest system offered by Dolfinos (starts at $1487). The shoulder rest is directly attached to the base of the chinrest which means it never comes into contact with the instrument body at all. Renowned virtuoso Leonidas Kavakos personally uses one with his Stradivarius violin.
(A sample picture of how the system looks)
(Kavakos at a concert displaying his Dolfinos system very clearly)
Another special example is the Korfkercradle by string company Pirastro ($1530). Invented and developed with Pirastro by Berent Korfker, who was a teaching assistant to the legendary Zakhar Bron, this product is named in honour of him. The rest is quite literally a cradle; it attaches almost to the entire lower half of the instrument. The special feature of the cradle is that it is almost completely made out of quality tonewood maple, so attaching this cradle to the violin might potentially even enhance the sound of the instrument!
Several violinists attest to the quality of the cradle: Korfker Cradle Statements
(How the Korfkercradle ‘cradles’ the instrument)
Currently, what seems to be a favourite choice amongst many violinists and violists is the Korfkerrest by Pirastro, a direct derivative of its big brother the Korfkercradle. Constructed from the same tonewood maple that the Korfkercradle has, it is an actual shoulder rest based on its design with adjustable screws to allow for the feet to attach to the instrument based on exactly how wide it is.
This comes at an extra advantage compared to other shoulder rests from companies like Kun which have been around for much longer as those Kun shoulder rests are based on predetermined plastic molds that don’t cater to the tiny variations of every individual instrument. Additionally, the feet of some popular shoulder rests from Kun do tend to display visible wear and tear especially around the areas of attachment to the instrument which make these shoulder rests not very durable, needing to buy replacement feet every so often.
The Korfkerrest does not need replacement feet being made of minimal rubber so it is less prone to succumb to wear and tear. Its light weight also helps to not change the balance of the instrument too much so the player will still be able to feel like the instrument is an actual extension of the body rather than a heavy block of wood.
(Violin and viola with Korfkerrest attached)
In all, the Korfkerrest by Pirastro is perhaps a gold standard to what an ideal shoulder rest should be like for violinists and violists: light, adjustable and potentially enhances the sound of the instrument. But all violinists and violists should undertake a brief period of study to play without a shoulder rest at first; in order to better understand the relationship between the instrument and the body. Last but not least, to also understand how the great violinists of older centuries achieved their own individual sound without the help of one.