THE CHINREST LIP
Play Better Than You Ever Have Before
The Chinrest Lip Company Ltd. is proud to introduce a thrilling new state-of-the-art product to the violin world.
The Chinrest Lip is the streamlined result of twenty-three years of thoughtful research in the pursuit of excellence in violin performance. This new invention is ergonomically designed to hold the violin up without the aid of a shoulder rest, for the sole purpose of playing the instrument at the highest level.
Our product can be used for the same purpose, and with the same results, by both violinists and violists.
Why should I use The Chinrest Lip?
1. The Chinrest Lip holds the instrument up without the use of a shoulder rest.
2. The foam is comfortable (and hypoallergenic), yet dense enough to serve its function of not buckling under the natural weight of the head or slight downward pressure of the chin. These forces allow The Chinrest Lip to act as a fulcrum raising the scroll, so that the performer can hold the instrument up effortlessly.
3. The foam rubber pad affixes strongly to the top of any shaped chinrest, and can be easily removed by just peeling the foam rubber away with the thumb. To remove the adhesive residue left on the chinrest, take a cloth, dab it with rubbing alcohol and carefully wipe the adhesive off.
4. The Chinrest Lip comes in 3 different heights for players with varied neck lengths: low (L), medium (M), and high (H).
5. The Chinrest Lip comes in 3 different colors: (light brown, dark brown, and black), the colors of most chinrests.
6. The Chinrest Lip makes it easily manageable to shift in both upward and downward directions because it completely frees the left hand of its natural tendencies of clutching or squeezing
7. The Chinrest Lip will help everyone realize their fullest most individual tone on the instrument, because the violin will now be sitting on or just below the collarbone. This lower position of the instrument allows the player’s natural arm weight to produce a healthy, luxurious sound without forcing.
8. All bow strokes can now be mastered because the instrument is positioned properly on the body, requiring the least amount of finger, hand, and arm manipulation to get the desired results. Therefore, if one does raise the arm to access the lower strings or lower the arm to access higher strings, that access is now more direct.
9. The Chinrest Lip, used over time, will help alleviate back, neck, and shoulder pains caused by improperly holding the instrument
What are the specific benefits of using
The Chinrest Lip?
LEFT HAND BENEFITS
The Chinrest Lip enhances total freedom of movement on the fingerboard, fundamental to playing at the highest level.
The Chinrest Lip is so light it is essentially weightless, in clear contrast to the burden of a heavy shoulder rest.
The close proximity of the instrument to the body and the security that The Chinrest Lip provides can stabilize and enhance a player’s vibrato.
Most importantly, The Chinrest Lip successfully allows the performer to feel the violin as an integral part of the body. This proximity to the instrument heightens the sensitivity to such a degree that one can feel the actual vibrations of the instrument while playing. As a result of this synergy, the performer attains the ultimate goal of every serious musician—to become one with the music.
BOW ARM BENEFITS
It is possible to produce a strong sound using first finger pressure or angling the hand in a forward press. But in our opinion, the fullest most individual unforced sound is produced primarily by the larger muscles of the arm, and not by the smaller muscles of the hand or fingers. In every sport in the world (for example: football, baseball, tennis, swimming, skiing, and even golf), for optimum performance the large muscles act as catalysts to move the small muscles. In other athletic endeavors, such as playing the violin or viola, the large muscles of the arm produce a fuller sound than the small muscles of the hand or fingers.
The Chinrest Lip was designed to have the violin sit on the player’s collarbone or just below the collarbone, so that the natural weight of the arm can be employed to draw the fullest most individual sound out of the instrument. Every bow stroke (detache, martele, marcato, spiccato, up-bow and down-bow staccato, ricochet, legato, sautille) can be mastered because the arm is now in the proper starting position. In other words, the bow is now sitting at the most direct angle to all four individual strings.
Specifically, by having this correct starting position, one can distribute the “tension/relaxation balance” in the muscles of the bow arm properly. One can never rid the body of tension. One can only learn to redistribute the tension properly throughout the body, so that the muscles can work effectively.
Why should I choose to use The Chinrest Lip
when I can use other violin products?
Presently there are numerous chinrests, chinrest pads, and shoulder rests on the market. All come in different shapes and sizes and all profess to be useful. We believe that our product is so unique and functional, that it will revolutionize the entire thought process about the proper way to hold the instrument.
And after trying it just once, and seeing your immediate improvement, we are confident that you will just love it!
Why shouldn't I play with a shoulder rest?
The benefits of not using a shoulder rest greatly exceed the false sense of security one feels when using a shoulder rest.
Many of the world’s greatest violinists, both past and present, have never used a shoulder rest.
The Chinrest Lip was specifically designed to help hold up the violin in the very same way as many of the greatest violinists the world has ever known.
If one uses a shoulder rest to hold up the instrument, more than likely, that shoulder rest will raise the bout (the back lower edge) of the violin off the collarbone, pushing the chinrest to the jaw. Unfortunately, when you raise the violin above the collarbone (even an inch), one often raises the shoulder to accommodate the bow arm to the higher string height. And by raising the shoulder, one loses the natural weight of the arm. See DEMONSTRATION #1.
Another problem using a shoulder rest is the difficulty in simply drawing a straight bow across the string. A shoulder rest can put the violin at such a distorted position on the body that it alone can cause one to draw the bow at a multitude of crooked angles to the string. As a result, it can force the performer to have to manipulate the bow with the fingers, hand or arm, to correct the problem. This added labor can severely impede the natural reflex action that is so necessary to play effortlessly with speed and accuracy. It can also be most detrimental in producing a beautiful tone.
For musicians with longer necks, getting a shoulder rest has historically been a quick fix solution to taking up the extra space between the collarbone and jaw needed to hold the violin securely.
In our opinion, in order to hold the violin more securely, it is best for musicians with longer necks to have a higher chinrest (which keeps the instrument as low as possible in relation to the bow arm, either on the collarbone or just below the collarbone), than to use a shoulder rest (which raises the violin above the collarbone). By using the higher model of our three chinrest lip heights (The Chinrest Lip H), musicians with longer necks who play with shoulder rests can now leave the violin lower on their bodies, and receive the many benefits of having their bow arm on the correct plane.
Can you prove that The Chinrest Lip will help all violinists and violists play better?
DEMONSTRATION #1
1. Stand up and raise your right hand high above your head. Keep your right shoulder low.
2. Allow the hand to fall to the side of your body naturally. Do not force it, just let it drop by itself. Your hand will slap against your right side, maybe even your thigh or hip.
3. If you let the hand drop by itself, it will slap against your body with great force.
(The average arm weighs around 4.7 % of total body weight, depending on gender. If you weigh 150 lbs., your arm weight is close to 7 lbs. If you weigh 200 lbs., your arm weight is over 9 lbs. In other words, the average arm is very heavy.)
4. Now, raise your right shoulder slightly before you raise your right hand over your head, and again let the hand drop by itself to the side of your body. The hand slapping against your side is now light.
More often than not, when using a shoulder rest, the player often raises the shoulder to compensate for the higher string height. As a result, the player loses a large percentage of the natural arm weight.
DEMONSTRATION #2
To show the IMPROPER position of the bow arm in relation to a violin held by a shoulder rest, do the following:
1. Take your right hand away from the frog, and hold the bow in the middle of the stick. Do not place the violin with the shoulder rest under your chin yet.
2. Find your own natural arm height in relation to your own body by raising your arm without raising your shoulder. Keep your left clavicle, right shoulder, right elbow, and right hand, all in one plane. This starting position of the arm allows for your natural arm weight to produce the fullest sound.
3. With your left hand, bring up the violin with the shoulder rest and put the violin under your chin, without moving the bow arm height you have just previously established. Do not raise your right shoulder.
4. Gently move the tip of the shortened bow toward the violin. You will observe that the tip of the bow is lower than the string height.
This drawing proves demonstratively that if your bow arm is sitting at the proper position on the body, one has to raise the arm to accommodate the higher string height the shoulder rest creates.
DEMONSTRATION #3
To show the PROPER way to hold the instrument, without a shoulder rest, do the following:
1. Peel off the plastic paper covering the adhesive, and affix The Chinrest Lip to your chinrest.
2. Hold the bow in the middle of the stick.
3. Raise the bow arm to the correct starting point with the right shoulder, right elbow, and right hand on the same plane as the left collarbone.
4. Now, put the violin without a shoulder rest under your chin, again without moving the starting position of the bow arm height you have previously established.
5. Gently move the tip of the bow towards the violin. If you are doing this correctly, the bow will be at the perfect string height as the bow is placed on the string.
CONCLUSION
The Chinrest Lip will dramatically help ALL violinists and violists play better.
Please let us know how our product helps you.
Our website is: www.thechinrestlip.com
Email us at: thechinrestlip@gmail.com