For 7 months now I've been learning on my rented fiddle, teaching myself; but soon to start lessons with a teacher. My fiddle has a chin rest that is off to the left side which seems to be typical of other fiddles I've looked at. Last night I was at a gathering of fiddle players and noticed some fiddles had a chin rest located more in the middle of the instrument. I've been having some neck and shoulder discomfort since playing..... and I'm wondering if a middle located chin rest might suit me better. Chin rests don't seem to be expensive and I could just purchase one to try. Any type, brand, material recommendations?? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
On a side note, I'm glad I discovered this forum. I kind of need a "fiddle buddy" and this forum offers just that.
Thanks!
Your teacher should be able to help with this problem, a question of finding what is comfortable for you, good luck.
quote:
Originally posted by MobobYour teacher should be able to help with this problem, a question of finding what is comfortable for you, good luck.
Yeah, I've fused with different chin rest placement. I like the more centered ones, but I don't use it for much anymore as I lift my head off the fiddle most of the time.
As you said, they are inexpensive, not a terrible cost to experiment. There is a member here who might chime in. Can't recall who, but he's offered several times to send a selection of chin rests that he has accumulated over the years. If you can hold out a little, maybe we'll hear from him. Might be the pirate whose name escapes me right now.
Welcome to FHO, we're a small but opinionated bunch. 
Edited by - ChickenMan on 01/15/2025 08:27:07
That'd be me. Most of what I have are the offset to the left type. I have one that is centered over the tailpiece, kinda shallow cup. Thing about chin rests, there are dozens of styles and types and heights. Best if your teacher recommends one and I'll see if I have one that matches it.
Pirate! I was right.
Okay, from now on, Al it is.
Edited by - ChickenMan on 01/15/2025 12:44:49
Thank you all for the help and suggestions. Makes perfect sense to discuss this with my soon to be teacher, (next week). And thanks Al for the offer. If I do look to make a change it might be worth a trip to the string shop I'm renting the fiddle from and do some on-site trying them on to get a feel for which style might work best.
Thanks again.
John
There is an almost bewildering number of different chinrest style, etc. LOL, I think I have half of them, over my 45+ yrs of playing.
Chin rests and shoulder rests go together and must be matched to give the space you want.
I never could understand why the thing is called a chin rest. I don't think anyone plays a fiddle with their actual chin resting on it. More likely some part of the jaw.
I agree that talking to the teacher is the first step. When you’re starting out, everything is going to feel awkward and foreign. Only after time and dedication to good posture will it begin to feel comfortable and natural. Your teacher can assess your posture in a moment and determine whether that’s causing issues that can be corrected. Beginning players tend to clamp too much with the chin or jaw for fear of the violin slipping. Tall chinrests and shoulder rests encourage this by wedging the violin firmly into the neck and shoulder. This excess of tension leads to repetitive strain injuries, so avoid jamming things under the violin.
Chinrests are grouped into “side-mounted” and “center-mounted” categories by the position of the hardware, not the cup. This may seem a bit confusing, as the most poplar Guarneri model has a cup that sits to the side but clamps in the middle, but for the luthier it comes down to the spot where the chinrest will be clamped, as this makes a structural and tonal difference.
If you find that you prefer a chinrest with a centrally located cup, the Flesch model does this. The Berber or Ohrenform sits mostly in the middle. Wittner makes lightweight composite plastic chinrests (their standard center mount and the adjustable Augsburg model). The drawback to some of the chinrests with cups in the middle is that it can be difficult to get one positioned so that it doesn’t touch the tailpiece. Sometimes they won’t fit without being carved out underneath.
thanks all, again, for the suggestions and help. And thanks, Rich, for the model's you mentioned. Just for my own interest I'll look them up just to get familiar with the styles that are out there. And good point that Brian pointed out about the chin rest and shoulder rest working with one another. I recently tried playing without a shoulder rest just to see what that would be like. I think, at least for now, I'll stick with it (and see if my soon-to-be teacher has thoughts about using it).
I would go to a fiddle shop where a qualified person could assist me with selecting, adjusting, and playing comfortably with the new shoulder rest or your old shoulder rest that has been adjusted to fit you.
