Musings from My Practice Journal July 5, 2011

[ceresdeorion]

Funny and totally true!



[JimViolin]

That was a really funny video! Love those pets! that chinchilla is so cute too! OK, back to music .. may I politely suggest you tighten up you vibrato on pieces like "Meditation" ... it's really a bit too wide and powerful for such a gentle and evocative piece .. otherwise, everything excellent! You are doing really well :)

[violinsrockdude]

Oh what an amusing video!!! Yes, they (you have two) are sooo adorable!!! Oh my goodness! And you sound beautiful! How long have you been playing?

[Violinfanatic]

@violinsrockdude Thank you!! I have been playing 8 years. Chinchillas are the greatest!

[TristArmstrong]

wow pretty impressive jasmine I noticed that you were playing without your shoulder rest and your chin rest, and by the way how many pets do you have?

[Violinfanatic]

@TristArmstrong Thank you! I have two bearded dragons, two chinchillas and I am getting a new puppy in August. My last dog died. You can see him in my previous videos. 

[TristArmstrong]

@Violinfanatic wow you got a lot pets there jasmine, and yes I know that your last dog died am sorry about your last dog

[paayoub]

shoulder rest is not necessary..i think.. yes some chinrests will dampen the sound, depends on where exactly its foots are toching on the violin.if its holding on to the edges of the violin then its fine. i lift my left shoulder and bring it slightly forward as this helps to avoid the need to bend or tilt my neck and head.

[Violinfanatic]

@paayoub Thank you! I am so glad you made comment about the "restless" issue. I believe in not playing with rests.

[violinstockholm]

It is so beautiful when you play without chin and shoulder rest!!!

It is so wonderful to play without chinrest to feel the violin sound in the body

My teacher was a student of Jascha Heifetz and my teacher told me that Heifetz forbade shoulder rest for the freedom and beauty of the sound.

[Violinfanatic]

@violinstockholm Thank you! I feel so honored to have such a great violinist comment on my video! You are wonderful. :^)

[Baytuch]

When you don't use a chin or shoulder rest it tends to wear off the varnish on your violin, and dampens the accoustics of the instrument. Keeping the violin held up with your thumb/index finger will cause tension in your hand, leading to your wrist and then shoulder, neck, etc, won't it? I think chin and shoulder rests were invented to improve playing. There's a reason great violinists like Oistrkah, Heifetz, and Hahn use them :) You do sound great though! Keep up the great work!

[Violinfanatic]

@Baytuch There's ton of debate about this. There are many players who successfully play without rests, using Milstein's approach of supporting the violin with the left hand. Heifetz developed arthritis in his shoulder whereas Milstein played well into his 80s. It really depends on the player. I am always checking for tension, as every player should. I am more concerned with my shoulders than I am my hands. I will upload a video in the future about restless playing. Thank you for your comment! :)

[Violinfanatic]

Yes, I need to start using a cloth, but since I play on cheap instruments, I never really cared about varnish. I have always been a really loud player, so one of my teachers, a long time ago, actually commented that maybe it was good my violin was a tad bit muted from playing without a rest. lol

[Baytuch]

@Violinfanatic interesting! Well I wish you the best of luck. :)

[maestromelnick]

Was that chinchilla eating a stick of cinnamon? And I love the Meditation from Thais! :D You sound fantastic!

[Violinfanatic]

@maestromelnick No, it was little apple flavored chew sticks.

[OutStringed]

Actually, the way you are supposed to hold the violin is with your chin and shoulder and not your arm and hand. I will make your shifting and your finger position and curve a problem. Why don't you use a chin and shoulder rest?

[Violinfanatic]

@OutStringed No, actually old time violinists like Nathan Milstein, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Clayton Haslop promote supporting the violin with the left hand. This is for string players who do not use a shoulder rest. It's more comfortable for me to play without the rests. Also, I truly agree with the Milstein school of playing. It does not hurt my shifting at all. Remember, rests are a relatively new invention. Before them, everyone played bare. Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi, they played without rests.

[OutStringed]

@Violinfanatic It all pretty much depends on your style and preference. You would usually have a space between your palm and the neck of the violin, which is hard to do without a chin rest or a shoulder rest for that matter. But on the other hand, some people were made to use no rests and some were made to use both chin and shoulder rest, like me, because I have a long neck.

[Violinfanatic]

@OutStringed No, you are right. I still have a space between my palm and the neck of the violin. The support in the left hand comes from the left thumb. I basically hold the violin just like any other violinists (rests or not). My wrist on the left hand is straight. However, unlike rests players, I use the space between my thumb and index finger on the left hand to hold the violin, moreso than a player with rests. Basically, I create a mental stickuity between the thumb and neck of the violin.