The chinrest is a wooden part (ebony, boxwood, tamarindo, rosewood), which is mounted on violins and viola, through metal clamps that tighten by threading. It was invented in the early 1900s, so by many past interpreters it was not used. With the request for a repertoire, increasingly difficult to play, the chinrest has become an integral part of the instrument, only a few do without it, thinking of ruining the vibration of the instrument with its presence.
In our opinion, the chinrest for violin and viola does not ruin the sound, being cantilevered (which can therefore ideally oscillate on vibration) and being placed on a low resonance area. The two clamps in fact tighten on the ribs, near the bottom block, non -“pulmonary” area of the picea soundboard.
The structure of the chinrest and the wood used, must respect the principles of vibration, certainly will not have to rest on “pulmonary areas” or on the tailpiece
THE DIMENSIONS (THE CONCAVITY AND THE HEIGHT) ARE IMPORTANT FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUONABILITY.
Every musician is used to have (or gets used to over time) a different position. There is no rule, but they can find uncomfortable chinrests that are not compatible with any facial form, so be careful to choose well.
At the length of the neck will correspond to a height of chinrest of a certain kind, the concavity must instead reflect the forms of chin and cheek.
The position of the concavity and its angle, in the center (like the “Flesch”) or moved to the left (like the “Guarneri”), mainly affect the direction of the gaze (straight or moved, angled or not). If the first characteristics are almost obliged by the anatomy of the musician, the latter choice is really the most subjective.
Not to be confused the height of chinrest with the height of shoulder rest, are two measures to be taken separately, since the first concerns the measurement of the neck / chin while the second the anatomy of the shoulder (their names already indicate it).
Atelier Cesarini can help you choose your chinrest, we have a lot of choice.