Violin Shoulder Pads – A Basic Guide To Understanding All About Them
Violin shoulder pads are a comparatively recent accessory to have surfaced in this niche musical industry. In fact there are many players and teachers who recommend against using this tool in the art of violin playing. They cite issues such as the fact that they may affect the sound from the instrument and their being a fairly new introduction to the art. But there are people who do particularly well with a shoulder pad, especially the ones with shorter necks.
There are many reasons so to why the need was felt to develop such a product. Shoulder pads make the task of playing a violin much more comfortable indeed. It frees the left hand from having to support the instrument and should allow the violinist to play without raising the left shoulder. There are two major categories of violin shoulder rests and the choice between them depends on the body structure of the person using it and his/her personal preferences. Let us learn more about them..
The first type is the soft violin shoulder pad, usually made of a curved piece of foam or maybe an air filled bladder that can be adjusted in accordance with the player’s preferences. The defining characteristic of these pads is that they are not rigid which means there is no tension on the part of the violin player while he uses the product. But the softness of the contact can rest or muffle the sound coming from the violin.
The next variety is the rigid shoulder pad which is based upon the same principle - feet that attach to the sides of the violin and a curved, rigid, shaped bar that connects the feet. Different manufacturing brands offer different shapes and sizes of this pad variety which means that there will definitely be one in the market that will suit your upper body, neck height, collar bone prominence, and slope and width of shoulders.
Now comes the task of buying the violin shoulder pad that will suit your needs the best. The first and foremost thing to consider here is your teacher’s recommendations. Different schools of practicing the art preach different formats of playing the instrument. You should definitely consider what your teacher thinks about the idea of using these pads. Next, you should look at your own playing comfort. In the case of the rigid models with feet, the pad should rest securely against your shoulder and collar bone with little if any gaps between you and the rest. To adjust the rest on the violin, experiment with different placements for the feet. With this basic information you can easily try different shoulder pads on and figure out which one you feel most comfortable using.
In case you need help with buying the highest quality violin shoulder pads, the internet can turn out to be a great source of help. ZaretAndSonsViolins.com is one website you can check out for this purpose and find the best products at the most amazing prices.
About The Author
Tony McWilliams is a stringed musical instrument expert who likes to share his immense knowledge about the topic through the many articles and blogs he writes. His recommendation for buying cellos and violins for sale would be from ZaretAndSonsViolins.com