Reddit mentions: The best string instrument shoulder & chin rests

Speaking from experience as both a violinist and teacher, obviously the best thing to do would be to see a teacher - but I definitely understand that isn't an option for everyone financially or time-wise. That said, here's my advice:

Start from the very beginning. Essential Elements is an awesome book series to teach you the basics, especially if you're rusty on reading music. The interactive CD helps quite a lot, and you should use it.

Put finger tapes on your instrument. Here is a good instructional on how to do it. I don't recommend the violin fretboard as it's too busy; the tapes are much easier to look at while you're playing.

Buy a tuner! If finances are a concern, you can download an app to your phone/tablet, but a digital tuner is your best option. I use this one and swear by it, particularly as it also has a metronome.

Practice using a full-length mirror. Since you don't have a teacher watching you play, you'll have to take on the role yourself. Particularly watch your left wrist (is it folding in against the instrument?) and your bow arm (is your bow moving straight and is your right shoulder hunched?). It sounds crazy, but practice in the bathroom...it usually has great acoustics and a large mirror. It works!

Make playing comfortable. If you need one, use a shoulder rest - they aren't especially expensive and make a great deal of difference in holding the instrument securely and comfortably (you don't want to be pinching your shoulder upwards or angling your head downwards). The Kun is an industry standard and works well for most beginners. Also, use a stand - do NOT put your music down on your bed or on a table and hunch over to read it, as it totally ruins your playing posture and prevents you from bowing properly.

I hope this helps!

No problem!

I'm not too familiar with electric violins but you'll want to look into getting a shoulder rest. I personally like the Wolf shoulder rests because they're of high quality and adjustable. The Kun ones are shaped to fit on your shoulder a certain way but I never held my violin in that position so it never worked; they're also not as high so I ended up shrugging when playing. Especially if you have a long neck, I'd recommend the Wolf.

Tuning will work like any other violin, you can probably google sites to play the string pitches. I'm not sure if your instrument would come with strings or not; a tip is that with the e string, the thinnest one, use a pencil to get a bit of graphite where it contacts the fingerboard up by the pegs. Since the string is so thin, it's more prone to snagging and breaking but getting some graphite in there acts as a lubricant. Also, for buying strings, as a beginner I'd recommend either Pirastro Tonicas or Thomastik Dominants. The Dominants tend to be pretty standard but I played on Tonicas for a while and had no problem with them. Thomastik also makes synthetic strings which I've heard stay in tune longer, but they're more expensive, so that'd be up to you. Tuning can be tricky to get used to so probably the easiest thing to do is to get an electronic tuner and make sure your violin has fine tuners. Rightie Tightie (tight being higher in pitch) Leftie Loosie (loose being lower) will never fail you with fine tuners. :)

Lastly, I think you'll probably need rosin. Again, I'm not sure if it'd be any different for an electronic violin, but it makes sense in my head, heh.

Overall, there's a great violin forum that you can join for free and ask more questions and people will chip in. Good luck!

I have to say that, unfortunately, the best advice I can give you is to find a teacher. I know that it seems like you can learn the basics by yourself, especially if you are already musical. But you will either learn habits that will be horrendously difficult to break later on, injure yourself, or both. You could end up with tendinitis, carpal tunnel, serious back problems, serious jaw problems, etc.

If you still want to learn on your own, as you look for a teacher, here's some advice that might help (from a violinist of 19 years):

• Make sure you don't have excess tension in your body. Your arms, your hands, your back, should be relaxed. This is imperative for not hurting yourself.
  
• Make sure you use either a shoulder rest or a sponge (not a kitchen sponge. One made for violin.) http://www.amazon.com/Players-Economy-Foam-Violin-Shoulder/dp/B000EEHDBG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1301454082&sr=8-2
  
• Make sure you put rosin on your bow. Don't over rosin, though. Just put enough on so that there is resistance when pulling the bow across the strings. If you are accumulating a layer of white on your violin while playing, you're using too much.
  
• Make sure to care for your violin. Wipe off any accumulated rosin, place the violin in the case snugly, and loosen the hair of your bow a bit before placing in the case.
  
• It may look dumb, but you'll want to place tape on the neck of your violin so you can easily find the right pitches, until your muscle memory is developed. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31YQHPWYMAL.jpg
  Work with a tuner. Play on the A string, and place tape at B natural, C sharp, and D natural. Make sure your violin is in tune first (using the tuner!)
  
• Don't start playing songs that involve anything other than first position. First position is when (on A-string), your index finger is placed on the tape at B natural, your middle finger on C sharp, and your ring finger on D natural. To find songs at this level, I suggest buying Suzuki Violin Book 1. Start at the beginning. http://www.amazon.com/Suzuki-Violin-School-Revised-Part/dp/B0027P7QY4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1301454626&sr=1-1
  
  Troubleshooting:
  
  
• One reason for notes not speaking well would be not having any or enough rosin on your bow. But remember, add gradually. Don't pile it on. Oh, and common mistake for beginners: Just rub the hair of your bow across the rosin. DON'T CHIP AWAY AT THE ROSIN BEFORE APPLYING. You'll just gunk up your bow hair and damage it.
  
  
• Start slowly. Don't try to play songs the way you hear them. You want to master songs at a slow speed before trying them faster. You'll just frustrate yourself otherwise.
  
  
• Squealing and bouncing happens when you don't have consistent weight of your bow arm. You should not feel like you're holding your bow arm up in the air from the shoulder. Your elbow should not held down by your side. (This should also be in the Suzuki book. With pictures.)
  
  I could go on forever, but hopefully this will help you. But, seriously. If you want to actually learn anything, find a teacher! But I wish you luck!

Instead of focusing on the exact position, can you focus on finding a position where your violin arm can be situated under the violin so you can easily reach all four fingers on the G string? For most people that is the position you describe, but sometimes it can be adjusted and still work.

I don't use a shoulder rest. I do use a small rubber pad (a red round make up sponge thing) rubber banded to my violin to prevent it slipping off my shoulder. The rubber shelf liner works too if you want even thinner. Just have something to keep it slipping off your shirt- especially if you're a beginner or picking it up again after a break.

There are many different chinrests too, and those are made to be able to be changed by a player. This one is center mounted, affordable, durable, and hypo-allergenic to boot: https://www.amazon.com/Wittner-Composite-Violin-Chinrest-Hypoallergenic/dp/B000F9JCHS/ref=pd_sim_267_2?ie=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B000F9JCHS&pd_rd_r=42R0WW0WRKBPJMJRTVCS&pd_rd_w=i2xCp&pd_rd_wg=x6v7r&psc=1&refRID=42R0WW0WRKBPJMJRTVCS


best of luck!

I use a Kun shoulder rest; been using one for decades. It's pretty basic, but it works for me.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009JMW9E/


I remember in school a lot of people modding their shoulder rests (to help with support, non-slip, etc.) with some makeup sponges, likes these:
https://www.amazon.com/Fantasea-Extra-Thick-Cosmetic-Sponge/dp/B000NJ00DK/ref=sr_1_4_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1538078388&sr=8-4&keywords=red+makeup+sponges+round

Your left hand should not have to bend to hold the violin. I would get a shoulder rest asap. There is a twist, and that is bad enough, but if you're bending your left wrist, you're signing yourself up for tendinitis or carpel tunnel syndrome. Good thing you're listening to your body and stopping to rest and stretch. But you'll be able to play longer with some support. Also, the shoulder fatigue. About 80% of my students love the Everest , about 19% prefer the kun and for my taller people, they prefer the wolf as it has screws for days.

When I worked in a violin shop, I wouldn't have even charged you for it, since you're bringing your own chinrest. It takes like 5 minutes at the most. But if you want to do it yourself, the tool is really cheap too. It's very easy, especially since you can't really mess up center placement.

I haven't gotten one yet, but I heard people recommend getting those things to put on your corded phones to help reduce shoulder and neck strain.

Phone thing

I don't actually own one. This was just given to me by the shop owner to keep the violins that I am trying. However, my friend does violin and viola and has a double case. He has to use something like this which he clips to the outside of the case.

https://www.amazon.com/Protec-A223-Violin-Viola-Shoulder/dp/B000648CPU

I would suggest getting one and learning with it, at least at first. You will probably end up with better posture this way. I would ask your teacher though. If you don't have one, getting a teacher should be a priority, even if you only have very infrequent (I had one every two weeks) lessons they will be able to guide you in the right direction.

The shoulder rest I play with is this one but there are many options available for even under £10/$15

Any questions, let me know! (I've been playing 17 years)

I don't speak much Italian, but I think this should be the one I have, and I really like it!

hmm... its a neat idea, but i think counting on a vacuum not losing its seal is a bit risky when there are other, more permanent ways to make a temporarily formable shape... like gels that harden when mixed with another chemical... or by reheating like the impressionist that miles mentioned.
https://www.amazon.com/Impressionist-Chinrest-Comforter-Black-Large/dp/B0072LMYUY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

you can get taller chinrests, but i would work on increasing from the shoulder rest side as well. you can get feet with longer screws. and you can just wrap extra cloth around the rest.

when my students go through growth spurts, they often end up with long necks and sloped shoulders, which is a troublesome combination for holding their violins. many of them just use rubber bands and socks until their frame catches up to their spine. if they end up with permanently long necks, that's when we look into the longer screws and higher chinrests. but doing it 100% from the chinrest side can put you at a strange angle to the instrument.

GEWA Chin rest "Teka" Left-hand model, Ebony 4/4-3/4 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BRTSFZK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_5z-2BbCEBVCEE

Put it on something like this

https://www.ebay.com/p/Electric-Violin-Right-or-Left-Handed-Size-4-4-Maple-Handmade-Case-Bow-Cable/11024517927?iid=292758287866

Swap the strings round.

You really can't go wrong with the standard Kun shoulder rest

I use this one for my Bon Musica

https://smile.amazon.com/Protec-A223-Violin-Viola-Shoulder/dp/B000648CPU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495115485&sr=8-1&keywords=protec+shoulder+rest+case

https://www.amazon.com/Softalk-00801M-Antimicrobial-Telephone-Accessory/dp/B00BXYJCEW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1500587266&sr=8-3&keywords=phone+shoulder+rest

You can thank me later

You could try this stuff. https://www.amazon.com/Impressionist-Chinrest-Comforter-Black-Large/dp/B0072LMYUY

https://www.amazon.com/DLuca-VV200-14-Viola-Shoulder-14-Inch/dp/B004R8WRCA That is the shoulder rest I use. Also, if you can find a community orchestra, you can learn from an orchestra.

I use this one and have never looked back.

I am needing These Clarinet thumb stops because mine has broken and now playing is tearing the skin off my already beaten up hands.
 
and this Violin chin rest as mine doesn't have one. I've been playing it for years without a rest but due to a partial shoulder dislocation, my doctor is telling me off and I'm having to stop playing until I get one!
 
Lastly, I need a new kettle because I've used mine too much and it Actually has a hole in it... Oops.
 
Forget about your worries and your strifes,
Chin up hon, I hope that you feel better!

I know you said you've tried multiple shoulder rests but have you tried the Bon Musica one? It is different than others in that it has a dramatic curve at the end which grips/hooks onto your shoulder so it stops it from feeling like the violin is going to fall. It is specifically marketed for people with arthritis/injury too. I was having some discomfort (not as severe as yours) and this helped greatly. I heard about it from this Youtube violinist, who explains it more.