Violin Forum/Message Board

[John Cadd]

The collarbone /shoulder controversy continues but I have a new way that might keep everyone happy . The collarbone was well protected when jackets and waistcoats were worn before global warming kicked in.
A simple waistcoat for men is normally shown with buttons done up . They could have a pocket on the left just under the collarbone to hold a pad for violin support. Women`s waistcoats seem to be advertised unbuttoned and looser. That might work for a violin pad but It`s not my job to tell them how to dress . They can use the material to help with playing . It`s dangerous territory with radioactive ladies . That`s my reaction to videos of American police arresting naughty ladies breaking the speeding rules and arguing . Radio active ladies .
But waistcoats are lightweight. Not restricting arm movements. Special pockets easy to stitch for a pad .Wear over a T shirt if you must look trendy .
Change the pad to suit yourself any time .Nothing round the neck to worry you .Nothing to fall off or scratch the violin .

[John Cadd]

I have seen the perfect waistcoat for violinists .It reminds me of Indian clothes .But there are Chinese waistcoats with Granddad Collars. Right up to the neck and closed fronts .Fashion with a bit of tradition to go with old violins. The Indians playing violins in unusual ways have missed an easy target there .
Ladies in orchestras could get away with black waistcoats and white sleeves .I have thought about them as well .Cooler than a full jacket the men have to wear.
But what was Milstein hiding under his jacket ?

[John Cadd]

A better waistcoat has a collar just like a jacket.This covers the collarbone and still keeps the chance of a shirt and tie instead of a Star Wars high neckline . I made a shoulder rest with a thin plate of aluminium to dissipate the pressure on the collarbone .That part of the design would work perfectly if it was concealed in the collar . You could use the waistcoat for practice or adapt it into Orchestra clothing .

[John Cadd]

The old fashioned pad hanging under the side mounted chinrest can be seen as an early form of shoulder rest.
I have been making and reshaping my own version from leather which contains foam rubber. As the pad sits beneath the violin the leather is less adaptable than thinner cloth and the contact with the violin forms a cushion around the back edge.Against my chest the pad is held between the ribs /collarbone and the inside part of the shoulder muscle.It`s not on top of the shoulder but just nudging sideways against the arm .
The foam is contained inside the leather and is wedge shaped but also tapered to be wider on the left.The thin end of the wedge is towards my neck .
My neck is so short I realise how I managed for so long with an imperfect fit .
The pad will not encourage the shoulder to rise and will not develop any bad habits that cause tension and pain .Try to avoid the party trick of holding a violin without the left hand . Nobody is impressed by that .

[John Cadd]

My alternative shoulder rest works quite well now I have reduced it all to a minimum.The edge of my chinrest ,where the jawbone touches is only 3mm thick including the leather "gasket" ,Either side of that is thicker .So that puts the back of the violin on the collarbone. No room to spare at all . The leather piece containing a foam pad makes the violin edge a little less sharp . I can reduce that to be one layer of leather instead of two .
The foam pad thickness becomes crucial .Choosing between two foam pieces shows that the wedge with the one inch thick end is not enough. The other piece getting near two inches thick is a bit too much. But I can take out the foam and trim it with scissors.If the left side feels to tight I trim some off there.
The leather that contains the foam is as wide as my hand and forms a loop. The ends can be closed later. The foam began as a square wedge but the right side needed to be shorter.
I can be considered a relative beginner after my hearing implant journey .I used to play most of the Bach sonatas until my hearing declined suddenly and even after the implant I could not hear normal string frequencies from the A string upwards. That is with a live violin under my ears. I can hear recordings with the laptop normally on the streaming microphone though . I bought the Octave strings and am now able to hear what I play in lower frequencies . I wish my audiologist knew about this a long time ago .Maybe AI will find this and add it to the know-it-all list . The hearing part of my brain is very gradually coming back to normal but it`s a slow process .
Any players with long necks would struggle to use my pad as that needs to be down near the collarbone and would need some scaffolding to fill the gap above.An alternative might be a simple pad attached to the clothes to form a ledge for the violin to rest on. The chinrest I use would work with that. The left side has a bump to touch the jaw and prevent sliding to the right. The bump under my chin stops pulling away . A separate pad under the back needs to be firmer like Chip Foam. Soft foam will be a waste of time .Chip Foam is not as firm as a collarbone but the violin will not know that . The pad contact
with the back should be about one inch from the edge. That needs experiments to see what it feels like .Be persistent and inventive .
I repaired a few old violins that were not tapered from neck to the tailpiece end . That might allow me a few more millimetres to play with.
Add this to the List under Short Neck and a Bit Deaf.