Specialist Help for Violinists and Violists Experiencing Physical Problems
Playing the violin or viola can involve highly precise and repetitive movements, sustained muscular activity, and continuous physical interaction between the player and the instrument. For some musicians, this can be accompanied by tension, pain, discomfort, stiffness, fatigue, restricted movement, altered sensation, or difficulties maintaining physical freedom while playing.
These problems can occur at any level of playing — from beginners and amateur players to advanced musicians, professionals and soloists. They may occur only in particular passages or playing situations, or develop gradually during longer periods of playing.
My work focuses specifically on understanding physical problems that affect violin and viola playing. The purpose is not to impose a particular technique or tell you that there is one correct way to hold or play the instrument. Instead, I look at your individual situation, including what you experience, how you move, and how the instrument is held.
What Are You Experiencing When You Play?
The sections below describe a wide range of physical problems that violinists and violists may experience. You may recognise one problem, several problems, or a combination that does not fit neatly into a single category.
These descriptions are not diagnoses. They are intended to help you identify and describe what you experience when playing. A consultation looks at your individual circumstances rather than assuming that a particular symptom has a particular cause.
If the problem you are experiencing is not listed here, that does not mean it is outside the scope of the consultation. Physical difficulties do not always fit neatly into a predefined category, and you may be experiencing a combination of problems or something that is difficult to describe in one term. You can simply describe what happens when you play when you make your enquiry.
If you recognise what you are experiencing, you can arrange a private specialist consultation to work directly with the problem in your playing.
Pain & Discomfort
Neck pain or discomfort
What you may experience
You may notice aching, pressure, discomfort, tightness or pain in the neck while playing. It may occur from the beginning of a session or develop only after you have been playing for some time.
How it can affect your playing
Neck discomfort can make it harder to turn or move your head freely, stay comfortable while playing, or continue playing without becoming increasingly aware of the problem.
The important question is not simply where it hurts. It is what is happening when the problem develops and how your head, neck, shoulder and instrument are interacting at that moment.
Shoulder pain or discomfort
What you may experience
Shoulder discomfort may be felt around the top, front, back or deeper part of the shoulder. It may occur on the left, right or both sides, and may become more noticeable in particular positions or passages.
How it can affect your playing
Shoulder discomfort may interfere with bowing, left-arm movement, instrument support, or your ability to continue playing comfortably.
A shoulder problem can be closely connected with what is happening elsewhere. Rather than treating the shoulder as an isolated area, a consultation can look at the broader interaction between the shoulder, the rest of the body, your movements and the instrument.
Back pain or discomfort
What you may experience
Back discomfort may occur in the upper, middle or lower back. Some violinists notice it only after sustained playing, while others become aware of it during particular positions or movements.
How it can affect your playing
Back discomfort can make longer rehearsals or practice sessions increasingly difficult and may affect how freely you move while playing.
Back discomfort is particularly worth considering in the context of the complete playing situation.
Arm or forearm pain
What you may experience
Pain or discomfort may occur in the upper arm, forearm or along a larger part of the arm. It may be associated with bowing, fingering, shifting or particular playing positions.
How it can affect your playing
The problem may make certain movements feel effortful, uncomfortable or increasingly restricted, particularly during demanding passages or longer sessions.
The location of the discomfort is only part of the picture. The timing of the symptom, the movement that precedes it and the demands of the passage can provide important information about the individual problem.
Elbow discomfort
What you may experience
You may notice discomfort around the inside, outside, front or back of the elbow. It may be associated with bowing, left-arm movements or sustained playing positions.
How it can affect your playing
Elbow discomfort can make particular movements feel less comfortable or make you increasingly conscious of the arm during playing.
The elbow sits between several parts of the playing movement. Looking at the movement as a whole can therefore be more informative than concentrating on the elbow alone. This is one of the situations where examining the movement in the context of your playing can be particularly useful.
Wrist pain or discomfort
What you may experience
Wrist pain or discomfort may appear during fingering, shifting, vibrato, bowing or while maintaining a particular hand position.
How it can affect your playing
You may become more restricted in the movements you use, find particular passages uncomfortable, or feel that the hand does not remain as free as you would like.
Wrist discomfort can be influenced by what happens above and below the wrist as well as by the movement of the hand itself. A consultation allows the complete movement and playing context to be considered rather than isolating one joint from the rest of the action.
Hand, finger or thumb pain
What you may experience
Pain may be felt in the hand, individual fingers or thumb. It can appear during specific finger patterns, stretches, vibrato, shifting or bowing.
How it can affect your playing
Even relatively local discomfort can alter how secure, precise or comfortable particular movements feel and may become more noticeable as playing continues.
Small differences in hand use can become significant when a movement is repeated many times. If the problem is concentrated in a finger, thumb or hand, we can look at precisely when it occurs and what the rest of the playing movement is doing at the same time.
Headache or head-related discomfort
What you may experience
Some players experience headaches, pressure or other discomfort around the head while playing or after sustained playing.
How it can affect your playing
The problem may become distracting, reduce your comfort during practice or rehearsal, or appear repeatedly in particular playing situations.
When head-related discomfort occurs in connection with playing, its timing and the circumstances surrounding it are important. A consultation can examine the playing situation in which it appears rather than assuming that the symptom has a single explanation.
Tension, Stiffness & Fatigue
Muscular tension
What you may experience
You may feel that certain muscles become tight, held or increasingly active while you play, even when you are not consciously trying to create that sensation.
How it can affect your playing
Muscular tension can make movement feel less free and may become increasingly noticeable during demanding passages or longer playing sessions.
Not all muscular activity is experienced in the same way, and the relevant question is often when tension appears, how it changes and what is happening in the playing at that point. The consultation is designed to examine that individual pattern.
Shoulder and neck tension
What you may experience
The neck and shoulder area may feel tight, elevated, held or increasingly fatigued while playing.
How it can affect your playing
You may find that the sensation builds during practice or performance and begins to interfere with comfortable movement or concentration.
Because the neck and shoulder region is closely involved in supporting and moving the instrument, the useful information often lies in the relationship between the two rather than in either area by itself. That relationship can be examined while you play.
Muscular fatigue
What you may experience
A muscle or group of muscles may tire unusually quickly, feel heavy or become increasingly difficult to use comfortably.
How it can affect your playing
Your playing may initially feel comfortable but become progressively more effortful as the session continues.
With fatigue, when the problem develops can be as important as where you feel it. The change from the beginning of a session to later playing can reveal information that is not apparent from a short description of the symptom alone.
Stiffness
What you may experience
You may feel stiff in the neck, shoulders, back, arms, wrists, hands or elsewhere when playing or after playing.
How it can affect your playing
Stiffness can make certain movements feel less available and may become particularly noticeable when changing position or moving between different playing demands.
Stiffness is not necessarily the same from one player to another. The particular movements that feel restricted, the point at which the restriction appears and the playing situation in which it occurs are all relevant to understanding the individual problem.
Excessive physical effort
What you may experience
You may feel that playing requires more physical effort than it should, even when the musical task itself is familiar.
How it can affect your playing
Extra effort can accumulate over a practice session and may leave you feeling tense, fatigued or less free in demanding passages.
When playing feels unnecessarily effortful, the most useful question is often where that effort is appearing and under which playing conditions. Examining those details can make the problem much more specific than simply describing it as “too much tension.”
Movement & Control
Restricted movement
What you may experience
A movement may feel limited, blocked, uncomfortable or difficult to perform freely while playing.
How it can affect your playing
Restricted movement can affect particular passages, positions or techniques and may lead you to compensate elsewhere.
The important information is often not simply which movement feels restricted, but when the restriction appears, what movement is being attempted and what else is happening at the same time. That context can be considered in a consultation.
Loss of movement freedom
What you may experience
You may feel that movements which normally feel natural become increasingly held, constrained or difficult to release while playing.
How it can affect your playing
This may become noticeable during demanding passages, longer sessions or when moving between different technical requirements.
Movement freedom is not simply the absence of muscular activity. Violin and viola playing requires appropriate muscular activity and stabilisation for different tasks. The relevant question is whether the physical organisation changes appropriately as the demands of playing change.
Reduced motor control
What you may experience
A movement may feel less precise, less predictable or harder to control than you expect.
How it can affect your playing
Reduced control can interfere with accuracy, coordination or the ability to make small adjustments during playing.
Motor control depends on the interaction between the movement, the task and the circumstances in which it occurs. A consultation can examine the particular movement rather than assuming that reduced control has one universal explanation.
Weakness or loss of strength
What you may experience
You may feel that a part of the hand, arm or another area is weaker than usual or that a movement becomes difficult to sustain.
How it can affect your playing
You may have difficulty maintaining particular positions, movements or playing demands for as long as you normally would.
When weakness is reported during playing, it is important to consider exactly when it occurs and what task is being performed. The consultation can help distinguish the playing circumstances from the symptom itself.
Loss of coordination
What you may experience
Movements that normally work together may feel less coordinated or less reliable, particularly during complex or demanding passages.
How it can affect your playing
You may find that particular combinations of movements become difficult to organise or that the problem appears only under certain playing conditions.
Coordination is specific to the task being performed. A difficulty that appears during one combination of movements may not be present in another. The particular playing situation therefore matters when examining the problem.
Numbness & Altered Sensation
Tingling or pins and needles
What you may experience
You may notice tingling, pins and needles or a prickling sensation in the hand, fingers, arm or another area while playing.
How it can affect your playing
Altered sensation may be distracting or may interfere with the way you perceive contact, pressure or movement during playing.
The timing and distribution of altered sensation can provide important information about the playing circumstances in which it occurs. A consultation can consider what is happening when the sensation appears without assuming a particular medical cause.
Numbness
What you may experience
You may experience reduced or absent sensation in part of the hand, fingers, arm or another area during or after playing.
How it can affect your playing
Numbness can affect your awareness of contact, pressure and movement and may make particular playing tasks feel less secure.
The location, timing and circumstances of numbness are important information. A consultation can examine how the symptom relates to the playing situation while recognising that medical assessment may also be appropriate where indicated.
Altered sensation
What you may experience
You may notice sensations that are different from normal, such as burning, sensitivity, pressure, unusual awareness or changes in how an area feels while playing.
How it can affect your playing
The altered sensation may become distracting or may affect the way you use a particular part of the body during playing.
When sensation changes in connection with playing, the precise circumstances in which it occurs are relevant. The consultation can consider those circumstances as part of the wider playing problem.
Nerve-related symptoms
What you may experience
You may experience symptoms that feel nerve-related, such as tingling, numbness, altered sensation or symptoms that travel along an arm or hand.
How it can affect your playing
These symptoms may interfere with movement, sensation or comfort during particular playing tasks.
Symptoms that appear nerve-related require particular care because their cause cannot be established simply from the sensation experienced during playing. The consultation can consider the playing circumstances, while medical assessment may be appropriate where indicated.
Violin Hold, Support & Posture
Difficulty with instrument support
What you may experience
You may feel that the violin or viola is difficult to support comfortably, secure during movement, or maintain in the position you need for playing.
How it can affect your playing
Uncertainty about support can influence freedom of movement, comfort and the way you use the left hand, right arm, neck or shoulder.
Instrument support is highly individual. The relevant question is not whether your arrangement looks like someone else’s, but whether the way the instrument is supported works in relation to your body and the movements you need to make. That relationship can be examined in detail.
Difficulty with violin or viola hold
What you may experience
You may feel uncertain about how you hold the instrument, or find that the hold becomes uncomfortable or demanding during particular movements.
How it can affect your playing
The problem may affect comfort, freedom of movement, shifting, vibrato, bowing or your ability to sustain playing for longer periods.
There is no requirement to fit your playing into one prescribed model of violin or viola hold. Your individual proportions, movements, instrument and playing demands all form part of the situation that needs to be understood.
Shoulder-rest-related difficulties
What you may experience
You may feel uncomfortable with your shoulder rest, uncertain about its position or height, or notice that your playing changes depending on the way the instrument is supported.
How it can affect your playing
The issue may influence comfort, instrument stability, freedom of movement or the physical demands placed on other parts of the body.
A shoulder rest is not automatically right or wrong. What matters is how your particular arrangement interacts with your body and playing.
My experience includes playing both with and without a shoulder rest, so we can consider either approach in relation to your individual situation rather than starting from a fixed recommendation.
Playing without a shoulder rest
What you may experience
You may play without a shoulder rest and find that instrument support, comfort or freedom of movement presents particular difficulties.
How it can affect your playing
You may experience strain in the neck, shoulder, arm or other areas, or feel that certain movements become difficult to organise comfortably.
Playing without a shoulder rest is a legitimate approach, but it does not make every individual arrangement suitable for every player. My own experience with and without a shoulder rest allows the question to be considered from the perspective of the individual player rather than a fixed rule.
Chin-rest-related difficulties
What you may experience
You may find the chin rest uncomfortable, feel pressure in a particular area, or notice that its position affects the way you support or move with the instrument.
How it can affect your playing
The problem may become particularly apparent during longer playing, changes of position or when maintaining the instrument in a particular orientation.
Small differences in the relationship between the chin rest, instrument and player can have practical consequences. Rather than assuming that a particular chin-rest arrangement is appropriate, the consultation can consider what is happening in your individual playing situation.
Posture while playing
What you may experience
You may feel that your posture becomes uncomfortable, asymmetrical, rigid or increasingly difficult to maintain during playing.
How it can affect your playing
You may notice increasing discomfort or effort, particularly during longer sessions or demanding repertoire.
Posture is relevant, but it is not useful to assume that one visual position explains every physical problem. What matters is how your posture relates to the instrument, the movements you make and the point at which the difficulty appears. That broader context can be examined together.
Playing-Related Difficulties
Difficulty with shifting
What you may experience
Shifting may feel restricted, uncomfortable, effortful or less reliable than you expect, particularly in certain positions or passages.
How it can affect your playing
You may find that particular shifts require increasing physical effort or that the problem appears only at specific speeds or in certain parts of the instrument.
Shifting problems are often highly specific. Rather than treating “shifting” as one general technical issue, the useful starting point is the particular movement and passage where the difficulty occurs and what your body and instrument are doing at that moment.
Vibrato difficulties
What you may experience
Vibrato may feel restricted, effortful, uncomfortable or difficult to sustain in particular passages or positions.
How it can affect your playing
You may notice increasing tension in the hand, wrist, forearm or arm, or find that the movement becomes less free during longer passages.
Vibrato involves coordinated movement between several parts of the upper limb and its relationship with the instrument. The particular way the movement changes during playing is more informative than assuming that there is one correct vibrato organisation for everyone.
Fingering difficulties
What you may experience
Fingering may feel physically demanding, uncomfortable, restricted or less reliable in particular passages.
How it can affect your playing
You may experience increasing effort, reduced freedom or difficulty maintaining the movement required for demanding repertoire.
A fingering difficulty can be influenced by much more than the individual finger. Hand position, movement of the wrist and arm, shifting, instrument support and the specific musical passage can all form part of the picture. The consultation looks at that complete situation.
Bowing difficulties
What you may experience
Bowing may feel physically restricted, effortful, uncomfortable or difficult to coordinate, particularly in certain parts of the bow or particular techniques.
How it can affect your playing
You may become increasingly aware of the arm, shoulder, wrist or hand during bowing, especially in demanding passages or longer sessions.
Bowing involves a constantly changing relationship between several parts of the body and the instrument. When a physical problem appears during bowing, the precise bow movement and the circumstances in which it develops are more informative than a generic instruction about bow technique.
Difficulty maintaining playing freedom
What you may experience
You may feel that your playing becomes increasingly held, effortful or physically constrained even though you know the musical and technical material well.
How it can affect your playing
The change may become most apparent during difficult repertoire, performance situations or longer sessions.
This kind of difficulty can be difficult to describe because the problem is not always one particular movement. Sometimes the significant feature is the change that takes place as the playing becomes more demanding. That change is worth examining in its own right.
Specific Movement Problems
Tremor or unwanted shaking
What you may experience
You may notice shaking or involuntary movement in a hand, arm or another part of the body during particular playing situations.
How it can affect your playing
The movement may interfere with fine control, confidence or the ability to perform particular passages in the way you intend.
Unwanted movement can be very specific to a task, passage or playing condition. It is therefore useful to establish exactly when it appears and how it behaves during playing. A consultation can help examine that pattern without assuming in advance what it represents.
Task-specific movement difficulties
What you may experience
A movement may become difficult only during a particular musical task, passage, technique or instrument-related action while remaining relatively normal in other situations.
How it can affect your playing
This can be particularly frustrating because general movement may feel normal while a familiar musical task suddenly behaves differently.
The task-specific nature of a movement problem is important information in itself. Instead of treating the difficulty as a general technical weakness, it can be useful to examine the exact task, the circumstances in which it appears and how the movement changes from one situation to another.
Jaw tension and discomfort
What you may experience
You may notice jaw tension, pressure, discomfort or a feeling that the jaw becomes increasingly involved while playing.
How it can affect your playing
The sensation may be distracting or may appear together with tension in the face, head, neck or shoulder region.
Jaw-related difficulties can involve a broader relationship between the head, neck, instrument and the way the instrument is supported. Looking at when the jaw becomes involved and what is happening in the playing at that point can make the problem much more specific.
Understanding the Problem
During a specialist consultation, I consider the individual circumstances surrounding the problem rather than assuming that the symptom itself identifies the cause.
- What you experience
- Where you experience it
- When the difficulty occurs
- How it affects your playing
- Which movements or playing situations are affected
- How the instrument is held and supported
- How you move while playing
- What changes as you play for longer periods
- What you have already tried and what happened as a result
The aim is to understand the relationship between you, your instrument and the movements involved in your playing. Two problems may look similar but arise for very different reasons, so it is important to look at what is happening in your own playing.
I do not work from a fixed model of how every violinist or violist should hold the instrument, use a shoulder rest, position the body or organise movement. The consultation is concerned with your individual playing and the physical difficulties you are experiencing.
Specialist Help — Not Conventional Violin Lessons
A regular violin lesson is primarily concerned with developing your playing. A specialist consultation is different: it is dedicated specifically to understanding a physical problem that is affecting you as a violinist or violist.
During the consultation, we work directly with your individual physical problem and examine what is happening when you play. We can try relevant changes or different possibilities and consider how the problem responds.
The aim is to understand the relationship between you, your instrument and the movements involved in your playing.
45 Years of Experience Playing and Teaching the Violin
I have 45 years of experience playing and teaching the violin.
I studied at the Conservatory of Utrecht and was taught by Pavel Šorm, Concertmaster of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, and Prunella Pacey, Soloist and Principal Viola of the Royal Northern Sinfonia Orchestra.
My experience includes both Russian and Belgian-French traditions of violin playing, as well as playing and teaching both with and without a shoulder rest.
This background informs the way I approach individual physical problems: not by assuming that one tradition, one hold or one physical arrangement is correct for everyone, but by considering the individual player and the demands of the playing situation.
A Medical Boundary
This is not a medical consultation and does not provide medical diagnosis or treatment.
The focus is on physical problems in relation to playing, including the individual player, the instrument and the way the instrument is played.
Recognise Your Own Playing?
You do not need to know exactly what is causing your physical problem before contacting me. You may simply know that something does not feel right when you play — perhaps you experience tension, pain, discomfort, stiffness, fatigue, restricted movement, altered sensation or difficulty maintaining physical freedom.
You may also notice physical changes in particular passages, during longer playing sessions, when shifting, during vibrato or bowing, or when holding and supporting the instrument.
And if what you are experiencing does not appear in the list above, you can still contact me. The list is intended to help you describe your experience, not to define the limits of the consultation.
A private specialist consultation provides focused time to work directly with your individual physical problem and examine what is happening when you play.
The aim is to understand the problem in the context of your playing and explore practical ways of addressing it in your playing.
Private. Individual. Confidential.
Every enquiry and consultation is private and confidential from the moment you make contact.
Consultations are available in person, or online for clients internationally.