5 mins
SOUNDPOST
Anne-Sophie Mutter performing minus a shoulder rest
LETTER of the
MONTH
THE REST IS HISTORY
The late Aaron Rosand was of the opinion that one should not use a shoulder rest (‘Ditch the shoulder rest to improve your playing?’, bit.ly/3t0Qnmi). I am of the opinion that it is absolutely all right to use one. The very same argument used to be made about using a chin rest as well. If one has a vintage instrument of any significant age, it can often be seen that under the area now covered by the chin rest, the varnish is a lighter colour because chin rests were not in use until after the 1880s or so. Yet you don’t hear teachers or violinists calling for a return to not using chin rests.
I had the wonderful opportunity of being able to study with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay – two world-class violin pedagogues, neither of whom had any reservations about students using or not using a shoulder rest. Let’s be real about something too. The violin is made of wood and not padded. When it’s sitting on a child’s clavicle on clothes, it slides – all the time. If it’s on their skin, it hurts, so they’re not going to want to do it. Even an adult has a hard time keeping a violin from slipping on their clothes.
When your equipment functions properly it should make playing effortless. Countless orchestra musicians use shoulder rests on a daily basis and have done so for many years.
LESLIE FALLIS
Clearfield, UT, US
SIGHT FOR SORE EYES
Looking at The Strad ’s online resources for sightreading, I came across Naomi Yandell’s Opinion piece from August 2017 (‘Sightreading is a skill that should be taught early’, bit.ly/3t0kjyN). I take issue with her comment: ‘Once students begin to read notes, sightreading should be taught.’ Young children can’t possibly be expected to imagine how a piece is meant to sound without long experience of note reading and understanding. The result is that the word ‘sightreading’ engenders a roll of the eyes, a slump of the shoulders and a feeling that the next ten minutes are a chore to be dispensed with before getting to the fun stuff again. I can’t help feeling Yandell’s comment ‘This will lead to the freedom to enjoy exploring repertoire outside their lessons’ is born of hope rather than experience! There’s a reason why the Trinity College of Music syllabus introduces compulsory sightreading only when students have reached Grade 6.
MARTIN PULLIN
Portsmouth, UK
Naomi Yandell replies: I am not saying that young students should be tested on sightreading, but rather that teaching sightreading should be taught alongside other skills once a teacher decides to introduce note reading. I have taught a lot of young students who thoroughly enjoy playing music that is new to them. I think we owe it to them to teach sightreading in an engaging way. From this we can prepare them to be independent and resilient members in group situations where it is immensely helpful to be able to sightread confidently.
SPIRIT OF THE SUITES
How extraordinary to learn from François Rabbath’s Sentimental Work (May) that the first time the Bach Cello Suites were performed on the double bass in their entirety was at Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, possibly the most sacred space in all of France – especially given that these pieces are so full of spirituality and wonder for all performers. I recall Pablo Casals saying he would perform two Bach preludes and fugues every day, in order to bless the day and his home. I wonder if Rabbath (right) recognised at the time what an inspirational moment this was for the double bass world, and that he was opening the doors to a cathedral of meaning for every bassist that came after him.
MARIE-CLAIRE DUCHAMPS
Rouen, France
NOT ROCKET SCIENCE
I was looking forward to viewing Professor Marcus du Sautoy’s online concert-lecture ‘Music & Maths: Baroque & Beyond’ (bit.ly/3vjwf0h) and I was sorry to come out of it more frustrated than fascinated. ‘So, can science tell us how the instruments made by Stradivari are so special?’ he ponders. ‘And why can’t we reproduce those instruments today?’ No, it can’t tell us any of those things because they’re not true, as a cursory glance at the past 50 years of scholarship would tell him. The numerous double-blind experiments pitting Strads against new instruments have pretty much demonstrated this conclusively, and science has been put to much more constructive use in, for instance, acoustic research, allowing modern-day luthiers to create even better-sounding instruments than ever.
Du Sautoy then launches into a description of the ‘Little Ice Age’ theory that Stradivari’s wood was denser than anything available today. This was debunked almost a decade ago, when luthiers Terry Borman and Berend Stoel tested the densities of 30 violins, antique and modern, and found no observable differences between them. It’s tedious to hear this ‘Professor for the Public Understanding of Science’ rehearsing old wives’ tales as if they’re still meant to be taken seriously.
IAN RADFORD
Baltimore, MD, US
www.thestrad.com
TOP 3
ONLINE POSTS
1 ‘I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to play the violin any more’ – David Garrett (below) bit.ly/3taA5XP
2 Ditch the shoulder rest to improve your playing? bit.ly/3nloTq4
3 Only have an hour to spare? Then practise like this bit.ly/3t6oGIO
ONLINE
COMMENT
Violinist and pedagogue Aaron Rosand’s article on the pitfalls of shoulder rests prompted violinists from across the world to share their experiences
bit.ly/3nloTq4
RACHEL BARTON PINE Everyone’s body is different. There’s no one-size-fits-all. Some of those ‘no shoulder bar’ guys stuff a bunch of padding under their jacket! I use a shoulder bar on my modern violin and I can achieve a successful tone and execution in total comfort. But I don’t use a shoulder bar or a chin rest on my Baroque violin and enjoy the feeling of that technique for that repertoire.
JOSE AURELIO CASTILLO I ditched my shoulder rest about 35 years ago and have felt very comfortable since then.
NICHOLAS J. FRANDSEN Yeah, and let the wood dig into your collarbone? Pass!
--- Editorial note Contrary to the impression given on the cover of the May 2021 issue, Julian Lloyd Webber is not left-handed.