Ask Augustin 27 - Posture Advice

I received a lot of questions about posture and playing without a shoulder rest. Finding a healthy and relaxed posture is essential in order to reduce the strain on our bodies, especially the neck, shoulders and back. It is something we should pay attention to already while we are doing well, not wait until there is an injury and then suddenly try to change it! It takes a lot of time to gradually change posture habits.
It is fine to tense up occasionally when playing certain things, the key is to be able to relax again the next moment, and for this, good posture is essential.
Every violinist is built differently and has to find his/her own posture, but there are some general things to aim for: to avoid strain on the neck, it's good to try to avoid extreme positions for the head (not all the way to the side or bent down, all the time). Even better, to be able to move the head and change its position at least slightly while playing, can reduce the strain on the neck and the neck muscles by a lot.

The violin should ideally be straight, not pointing down or up - even if it can feel good to the player to bend down (I did this a lot...) or to hold the violin up high, which looks very dramatic (but is not good for the sound)! This is because efficient sound production is all about using the natural weight of the bow, and for this the violin strings should be an even surface for the bow, if you point the violin down or up, it affects this gravity- and also the direction in which the sound travels from the violin.
I get asked a lot about shoulder rests, or my lack of a shoulder rest. I use a cushion under my shirt, which feels great to me, but it essentially feels like playing without a shoulder rest, while keeping the violin at a better angle and reducing the strain on my neck. If you are used to playing with a shoulder rest and have tension issues, you might want to experiment with the type of shoulder rest, since there is such a huge variation in size, shape, and quality available and different ones may be good for different players. There are also lots of different chinrests, including some that are very tall, or in the middle of the violin, which can be better for people with long necks.

Видео Ask Augustin 27 - Posture Advice канала Augustin Hadelich