The shoulder rest is an extremely important accessories to the violin or viola that can alter your playing dramatically. Your level of comfort while playing is of course paramount to how long you can maintain good position on the instrument, and how often you can repeat your optimal movements for bowing and fingering.
Many times, however, I find that students are holding the violin in a very uncomfortable position, making it impossible to improve their technique. The basis for 80% of all technical limitations comes down to a fundamental flaw in how you are holding the instrument or bow!
The main thing with choosing a shoulder rest is that you want to make sure it is one that can HELP you maintain your good posture. A good shoulder rest is not necessarily the most cushiony or the softest, but is one that provides good support as well.
Let's take a look at the most popular styles of shoulder rests!
The Play on Air shoulder rest generally comes in two shapes - the round on, and the oblong one. It is essentially an air filled pillow that straps onto the sides of the violin with rubber feet, and contains a non-slip surface so that it doesn't slide around the instrument.
A lot of young violinists and violists choose this option, because it is easy to adjust the firmness and height of the shoulder rest, and it is most comfortable to a lot of young players.
I do recommend the Play on Air to students who are on less than 3/4 size instruments a lot. Many times the neck length of small players makes it uncomfortable to have a more solid shoulder rest.
However, the fact that the Play on Air lies directly on the body of the instrument provides a big drawback for larger instruments, because it does affect the sound negatively. Also, the fact that it's an air pillow does not give it a lot of support when you get to a heavier instrument.
When you have a small instrument, the sound is already not going to be very good due to the acoustic limitations, so the difference in having a pillow blanketing your vibrations doesn't matter so much. But if you're going for fullness of sound on a 3/4 or full size, I think it's best to look to another option.
The Wolf style shoulder rests come in 3 different shapes. In general, these shoulder rests are many times the best option for someone with a very long neck. They can be adjusted to the highest position of most any other shoulder rest.
They do give superior support to the Play on Airs, and remain pretty flexible, for people who like that.
One drawback of this, however, is that they may be too flexible, and can come down too far and touch the instrument back sometimes.
For this reason, they are normally not the best option for someone who needs a lower shoulder rest. You should always make sure that your shoulder rest will not scratch your instrument, and the Wolf rests have a lot of metal - screws, plates, etc., that can do that if not used with care.
Also, they are not as contoured as some other options, so they provide most support in one location on the shoulder, instead of around the top of the shoulder, like a more contoured option does.
Some people can't find a contoured rest that fits their particular shoulder curvature, however, and this is a good option for those people as well.
The Kun shoulder rest has been around for over 20 years, and has proven itself a favorite with students and professional players alike. It has a specially contoured surface which hugs the shoulder, distributing the force more evenly than many other designs.
I myself use a Kun rest, and I generally recommend Kuns to students, as soon as they have developed the shoulder structure that can benefit from it.
Kuns used to have a design flaw which could produce scratches in the instrument surface. My viola is a testament to that unfortunately. Gladly, they resigned the feet so that the Kun rest will not overly rotate, causing the rubbing on the body of the instrument.
The Kun Super is the model that best protects against this, and also the most finely adjustable member of the Kun family. I recommend this one highly.
The Bon Musica shoulder rest is an interesting and different concept in shoulder rests that takes the idea of distributing the force around the shoulder to a new level. If you were ever a student that said, "Why can't I just hook this instrument on my shoulder and not have to hold it up?", you might want to look into this similarly minded design!
It won't really hold it up for you, but it does help! The hook is flexible, so you can adjust it to your own shoulder, something you can't do with a Kun, for example. The resulting feel is a bit different than what you may be used to, and some people find that good, and others not. I've played with one of these, and I think that it could be especially good for those who have a hard time holding up their instrument into the right position!
Viva and Viva La Musica shoulder rests are made in Slovenia. There are two different qualities of experience in these shoulder rests. It is similar to the Kun rest with subtle unique differences.
One thing that is excellent on each is a unique rubber foot design that grips the instrument more securely than a Kun, for instance. Also, the foam pad is softer and thicker than a Kun shoulder rest, which many people like.
The lower model Viva is made of plastic and is available in a variety of colors (see above) and in sizes to fit as small as 1/16. You can also get an extra-tall foot for those that have a longer neck and don't like the Wolf rest.
Like the Kun, Viva also can be purchased in a compact collapsible version. If you want a deluxe experience with your shoulder rest, (after all, you paid for the extra tortoise shell frog and inlay pegs), the deluxe Viva la Musica is made out of maple with metal fittings in either gold or black. It is a very good looking piece of hardware!
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