High Chin-Rests

Do you suffer from playing-related neck or shoulder pain? Read on to learn how a high chin-rest can help!

Scroll to bottom of page and click images to order

Having seen many of our customers suffer playing-related injuries we believe it is important to promote knowledge about staying healthy as a musician.

Athletes spend a significant amount of time conditioning their bodies for performance and success, and injuries are not only actively treated but prevented. The increasingly popular "musician as an athlete" philosophy is leading many musicians to approach their discipline in a similar manner, enabling many to overcome pain and resolve issues with technique.

Maintaining mobility and flexibility, and developing greater awareness and coordination through the use of methods like the Alexander Technique are highly recommended, but one often overlooked aspect of enhancing performance and health is ensuring that your instrument is fitted with the optimal chin-rest and shoulder-rest. Many musicians select chin-rests based on the recommendations of their teacher or peers, or use the chin-rest that was sold with the instrument. However, ill-fitting rests can result in displacement of the neck and skull over time, resulting in pain and muscular imbalance. Whilst problems can seem minor initially, over years the results of allowing problems to go unchecked can result in needing to take time off work, surgery, or in rare cases, the end of a career as a musician.

We are pleased to announce we now offer taller versions of many popular chin-rests, which can greatly alleviate pain and discomfort in players with longer necks. Click images at bottom of page to order.

Musicians with longer necks are most vulnerable to the problems caused by ill-fitting rests. Some teachers subscribe to the view that players shouldn't use shoulder -rests; a player with a long neck may benefit from a higher chin-rest when playing without a shoulder rest. Even amongst players who already use shoulder-rests, for some the additional height provided by a raised chin-rest can result in improved alignment of the head, neck, and shoulders, which can prevent the muscles, ligaments and joints from strain.

Aside from avoiding pain, changing your chin-rest can improve technical ability significantly. The site Artist In Balance details the link between ill-fitting chin and shoulder rests and technical difficulty. It provides plenty of ideas on how to optimise your set-up.

Testimonial: Greg Mascherino, Germany

Good news! The chinrest has really helped me think about the balance and posture of my shoulders and violin. There has been a large reduction in pain in longer practising hours. Because I only use a shoulder pad and no real shoulder rest, it was really important to try this and it is working great.

Liv, Lincolnshire

I wanted to let you know how much of a difference the new chinrest has made to my violin playing. It has made a huge improvement and I no longer suffer from neck and shoulder pain! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

As choosing a rest is a highly individual process, for anyone able to travel to Cardiff, we recommend booking an appointment to try various rests in order to make the best choice. Fitting sessions are free for the first 30 minutes and then cost £20 per hour, or £ 5 every 15 minutes. Please call 029 20 22 77 61 to book yours.

Trial box scheme: Try any or all of our high violin or viola chin-rests (limited to one per model)

If you are unable to visit us we offer a chin-rest trial box scheme. Order any quantity of high chin-rests from the ones listed below (limited to one per model) and we will post them to you immediately. All chin-rests sent back to us will be refunded. Please note the time limit to return them is strictly two weeks. Postage costs won't be refunded. However, they are significantly less than travelling to and parking in Cardiff! Please order online here: https://www.cardiffviolins.co.uk/high-chin-rests/ or call us on 029 20 22 77 61 (we prefer online orders if you can as it frees us to look after customers in the shop!). However, if you are abroad, do not attempt to put an order online, but email us instead to let us know what you would like to order. We will then send you a Paypal invoice.

Please note it is your responsibility to make sure that the chin-rests get back to us safely, as we do not refund anything lost in the post. Sending them with registered post, or signed and tracked with compensation is the surest way to get your money back if they are lost.

These chin-rests are hand-made, in ebony that has been dehumidified in order to avoid risks associated with poorly dried wood. They are typically 10 mm higher than standard ones. We no longer supply rosewood chin rests as it is a protected wood for which there are now restrictions on travelling with. Boxwood chin-rests will only be supplied with a firm order, paid in advance. They will take a few months to get to you. If you need an even higher chin-rest, we can organise it but please bear in mind that it can take a few months to get it as we have to wait till we need to order large quantities. Please let us know if you require anything special. Below is a comparison of heights between the standard and the high chin-rests.

High Chin-Rest Specifications

FLESCH ORIGINAL High Regular

Left corner                                       30 mm                                 20mm
Centre of bump                                15 mm                                 15mm
Right corner                                     30 mm                                 20mm

ROUNDED FLESCH High Regular

Left corner                                      30 mm                                 20mm
Centre of bump                               15 mm                                 15mm
Right corner                                    30 mm                                 20mm

OHRENFORM High Regular

Left corner 29 mm 19 mm
Right corner 32 mm 22 mm

GUARNERI High Regular

Left corner 33mm 19 mm
Right corner 33mm 19 mm

TEKA High Regular

Left corner 26mm 16 mm
Right corner 33mm 22 mm

CARDIFF VIOLINS High

Left corner 31mm
Right corner 38mm

Extra high Teka, Ohrenform & Rounded Flesch chin-rests are also available

We also recommend trying out the GelRest, which has been successfully used by many players to eliminate pain and reduce fiddler's neck. Playing-related pain is a complex issue, as a problem in one area is often transferred to another. However, if your problem stems from the jaw/neck area then the Gel Rest may help. Click here to learn more and order!