It starts with the equipment

In early 2014, I grew wary of how often I would be readjusting the legs of my old Kun shoulder rest so I could practice, rehearse or perform with relatively less pain. Well, when the frequency of that readjusting is about every few minutes, one knows something is just not fitting in the picture of wellness!

A chance encounter with a legendary soloist who has never relied on a hard shoulder rest, and has taught many people of different neck sizes, led me to not fear removing the offending accessory from my set up.

My cold turkey approach did not exactly bring me comfort, so as my fingers decided to type ‘chinrest’ for a search, the first search result, unknowingly to me then, became the beginning of a new era in my life.

Feeling like I am one with my violin had happened when I was five years old, but feeling discomfort through years of training to be a fine musician somehow became the yardstick of how well I was doing. Pain was a sign that I was working hard, but too hard.

I never contemplated that the discomfort that got compounded through 30 years was actually the result of using ill-fitting equipment. The reality is that most teachers, specially in institutions of higher learning, are mostly concerned with matters of artistry, but not equipped or informed to advise on matters of wellness.

My search led me to the lifted chinrests that are the creation of Gary Frisch, luthier, and Lynne Denig, violinist who had studied with the great pedagogue Paul Rolland. Playing with the violin on my collar bone and the chinrest placed where it actually meets my jawline, at a height that does not inflict neck discomfort,  felt all of a sudden so natural that the only thing I wondered was, why didn’t someone tell me sooner?