Here’s a topic that holds many a violinist back without them realizing it. And it’s rather overlooked in any book or blog I’ve read. Yet it’s an important topic, as you’ll see. After all, your clothing is the true point of contact with your shoulder rest. It keeps the violinist warm. And without it, you’d be running around stark naked. If that’s not an important topic, then I don’t know what is.
I’m writing this in the hopes that you won’t have to learn this stuff the hard way. Some of these mistakes I made even after years (decades, really) of experience. As I’ve figured this out, I’ve replaced bad clothes with good ones. What’s the result? My playing is easier, I’ve avoided frustration in the practice room, and I have better consistency in high-stress performances. So without further ado, let’s get to the list.
1. If your clothes aren’t warm enough, your dexterity will suffer.
To start with the obvious, your clothing needs to keep you warm. If your clothing doesn’t keep you warm enough, your fingers will get cold and lose their nimble dexterity. Wool socks and long underwear help a ton. But simply layering up is the best strategy most of the time. Of course, in the summertime you need to be comfortable as well. But it’s easier to play in a hot room than a cold one.
I’ve found this to be especially important when playing in high-stakes situations. Because if the audition room is even slightly chilly, you’re going to have a bad day. Unless you’re prepared, of course. When going into an unfamiliar performance space, always layer up more than you think you need. Then pare down for comfort.
2. If your clothing is restrictive, it will impede your motion.
While you’re playing, you’re going to be moving around a lot. If your clothing restricts your free range of motion, you’ll be fighting against physics. Physics tends to win — it’s stubborn like that. If your motion is restricted, this leads to tension as you fight against the restraints of your clothing. Excess tension will kill your sound quality. Not to mention, if your shirt is interfering with your playing, your attention will suffer.
Whenever I’m testing out a new shirt, I put up my air violin. Then I play a few imaginary notes to see if I’m able to move. I once even took my violin into the store and serenaded the sales team. They didn’t give me a discount, but I did get a shirt that I’ve used for every recital since.
3. If your clothing bunches up around the neck, it will cause tension.
The closer your violin is to your neck, the easier it will be to hold. This is the same principle as why it takes so much less effort to crack a nut at the top of a nutcracker than at the bottom. If your shirt has extra material that bunches up around the neck, it will push the violin further away. This in turn will make you chase the violin with your head, spoiling your natural technique. Hoodies have been exiled from my wardrobe since I figured this out in high school.
4. If your clothing is loose in the shoulder, the violin will slide down.
Your violin rests on your shoulder. You’ll want it to stay put. Make sure your shirt doesn’t have too much wiggle room in the left shoulder. You can test this out right now. Pinch the fabric between the neck and the shoulder, right where the violin would sit. Give it a downward tug. If it moves around too easily, it’s a bad shirt.
If your shirt lets your violin slide down your chest, your head will follow. And to prevent the inevitable pull of gravity, you’ll have to pinch the violin in place with your head and shoulder. Over time all that tension can do some serious damage to your body.
5. If your clothing changes your setup height, it can cause tension.
At some point you hopefully figured out a comfortable height for your shoulder rest. Then if you’re like most violinists, you checked off that box and forgot about it. But consider this — if you’re wearing several layers (e.g., a tuxedo), you’ve added extra height between your shoulder and the violin. To compensate, you should lower the shoulder rest an equal amount. If instead you’re wearing a thin layer, raise the shoulder rest a bit. It takes about 30 seconds to check in with your shoulder rest height at the beginning of the day, and the payoff is well worth it.
If your clothing causes your shoulder rest to be too high or too low, you’ll be forced to contort yourself to the instrument. This will cause squeezing in the neck and shoulder.
6. If your clothing touches the body of the violin, it can buzz.
Years ago I had a problem with my violin. Some days it would buzz really loudly. When I would bring it into the shop a few days later, the buzz would be gone and the luthier would send me home with a shrug. One buzzy day I called the luthier up from the practice room, and he invited me over that very same afternoon. When I got there, the Big Bad Buzz finally presented itself. After some experimentation, we found it. It was the zipper at the top of my fleece that I sometimes wore while playing. It came up just enough to touch the back of my violin. When the instrument vibrated, the zipper buzzed against it. I’ve never made this mistake again.
Thankfully, the luthier was generous with his time. Otherwise this Phantom Buzz could have cost me a pretty penny.
CONCLUSION: The whole point I’m trying to get across is that your clothing does effect your playing. To sum this whole post up in a checklist, here is the ideal for all your clothing:
- Warm enough
- Free range of motion
- Not bunched up around the neck
- No slippage in the left shoulder
- Gives proper height to the shoulder rest
- No zipper at the collar
Please let me know in the comments if you found this helpful. This blog is still a wee little baby project of mine. So I’d love to hear if it was worth the time to write this. And if you feel I’ve missed something (the female perspective, for example), feel free to share your experience below.
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