Day 20

All elements--good night (3hours). Also went through Wohlfahrt #2, op45 about 5 turning up the ticker each pass(80-116). All Suzuki. Jammed 'a little'. Researching posture.

Mum's comments on posture and shoulder rests.

Ditch your shoulder rest altogether - they immobilise your shoulder. I too used to have terrible backache from practising. Then I took up baroque violin instead. I've recently come back to practising the modern violin seriously (e.g. Mendelssohn concerto). I recommend:

-make the sort of soft cotton-wool-stuffed shoulder pad that children often start with. Don't make it too fat! Be prepared to alter it until it feels right.

-push the violin further back on your shoulder, so that the corner of your jaw that lies below your ear is fairly central over the tail-piece. This stops your neck getting stiff.

-as Menuhin recommended in a book whose title I've forgotten, use your collar-bone as a fulcrum on which to balance the back of the violin. The violin is then like a see-saw with the weight of your head sitting on one end. Your head should feel that it is sinking into your neck under its own weight, looking straight ahead - there's no need to rotate it to the left.

-try standing up without the violin. Look straight ahead. Lift your arms to shoulder height. Bring them forward so that there is a right angle between them. (Symmetrically! - 45 degrees each side of a central line!) Now rotate your forearms into playing position, keeping upper arms as before. Are you comfortable now? Try to keep as much as possible of this posture the same when you pick up your violin.

I hope this helps. Your health is more important than your violin-playing, though I know it's hard to keep a sense of perspective when you're devoting long hours to your practise. Good luck!