Start with: Wolf Forte Secondo; good height adjustment and security

Then: Viva VLML5 Standard; teacher suggested and very comfortable w/shoulder freedom

Then: Belvelin pad large size; even more shoulder freedom but wrist vibrato harder

Then: Viva VLML5 Standard; back to this one to work on wrist vibrato

Then: Belvelin large size; freedom and comfort back w/wrist vibrato under control

Now: Thinking about temporarily trying the Bonmusica, or going back to the Viva VLML5 Standard, to further work on the arm vibrato, as the violin just doesn't feel as stable as I'd like with arm vibrato..

What do you/have you used if you care to share?

Does your shoulder rest/pad choice sometimes directly relate to vibrato work?

Also, I'm concerned about potentially scratching my violin if I try a Bonmusica, any thoughts?

Dianne
27 Responses
Posted: November 28, 2022
Last Comment: January 24, 2023

I've been thinking about how a feeling of security can come from the shoulder rest or pad, or from the chin rest, as someone mentioned earlier in this thread, or both. I am currently working on vibrato and my setup was feeling slightly unstable, yet I couldn't go back to the other solid rests because they didn't feel comfortable. So I use the Belvelin again (my favorite) and installed a piece to my chin rest, and voila, it is working! I am so happy to have this.

FWIW my unusual shoulder rest is a Suretone; you can see it at https://bestshoulderrest.com

After three months of trying every rest (& chin rest)I could find, this is the only one that kept the violin stable rather than having to hold it up with my left hand.  It doesn’t sit flat against the bottom of the violin,  but it’s still huge and I’m not happy about that aspect… but it doesn’t seem to wreck the tone and I’m an old beginner for whom it was worthwhile to avoid pain & tension! 

was not able to insert pictures from my phone, but uploaded a short video. 

Hi Dianne,

Yes, I think it is a Poehland, though it has no label or markings. I was thinking of one day getting a backup though I don't know if my local luthier carries them (someone in Toronto does though).

Ted, that pad looks great. It very much resembles the vintage Poehland Model C that David Oistrakh used. Here is someone that was selling what looked like the original.

Hi Dianne,

I think you may have tried one of these already but here is what I use. For several years I used a Bon Musica and the shoulder pad, when I tried it, felt unstable.

But then one day, after a few years, I tried it again (I really wanted to play with no shoulder rest at all) and it fit me really nicely.

I chose Everest because of the maybe the tallness and I lift my shoulder less when I play with it. 

But the Bonmusica is not as freeing to the left shoulder as resting the violin against a wall. So it is somewhere in between. It makes such a difference with vibrato though! It will certainly be a nice practice tool. Or I may end up just using it, but it is so very different in all other respects. Does vibrato play that much of an important factor? The Belvelin is completely freeing to playing but not necessarily to vibrato. It really does feel like a distant relation to restless playing, so needs the left hand somewhat involved.

I'm only a beginner with no vibrato yet but what really helped me was from Beth's Resources pages after literally trying 10 different shoulder rests including the Bonmusica.The Waves Chinrest.  https://www.wavechinrest.com/

Really nice company and they sent 3 different styles/heights to try and then you just send back what you do not like.  Once I used a bit higher chinrest the shoulder rest issue resolved itself and I ended up using just some round pads and a 1/4" foam base, both found easily online.

l've learned quickly that the setup is very individual and experimentation is the key!  Even watching Beths videos I see that she changes over time.... :)

Good luck!

I tried different ones but I never got the most ergonomic one until I found Dolfinos. It’s very pricey, but this rest system is the only one that fits like a glove for me. 

Ben

In the past I have used the bonmusica and the Wolfe secondo. I feel like out of the three of them, everest is the best for me. 

Aaagh, the whole setup/shoulder rest question. There's so much involved — where specifically you attach the shoulder rest, angle of violin in relation to your body, but also type of chin rest, height of  chin rest... A lot of trial and effort. A regular shoulder rest (Kun or Everest in my case) with some foam that lets me adjust the height and angle is what's working for me right now. But oddly, what works for some amount of time will suddenly stop working and then I'll need to start the whole process again!

BTW there's this very interesting rabbit hole to fall into, if you haven't already — it's a research project all about set-up and ergonomics, with plenty of photos that make the changes very clear. Here is the link. If you browse the "musician-stories" link in the top horizontal menu, you get a clear sense of the solutions. Often a chin rest (as opposed to a shoulder rest) is what ended up getting changed.

I use what I discovered is a Poehland shoulder pad (mine has no name or marks and came with my used violin).

I used a Bon Musica for the first few years and it was fine but I wanted to get closer to the instrument.When you do it, you'll probably understand why I would want this (it's like you feel and hear more sound).

I did not find that the shoulder rest or pad affected my vibrato.

Speaking of chin rests, though; I used to use Guaneri style chin rests but then tried a side rest. This moves the position of the chin rest probably less that a millimetre but makes a big difference for me with comfort and stability and thus, vibrato.