PERFORMA Shoulder Rest For Violin

The Ergonomic Edge to Playing!

• Shoulder rest for violin
• made of thermoplastic polymers
• extra wide support and ergonomic shape
• adjustable in height and width
• included: shoulder rest, 2 rubber feet (11 and 17 mm), 2 pads (2 and 5 mm)
• weight approx. 100 g

As
an active concert artist and professor of violin and chamber music at
Carnegie Mellon University, the violinist Cyrus Forough spent his entire
career looking for the ideal and convenient means to play the violin.
For years he tried almost every available shoulder rest and even spent
some time playing without one. Of course, this is not just a question of
comfort. Positioning the violin while standing or sitting creates an
extremely unnatural situation for the head, neck, back and shoulders.

As
an active concert artist and Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at
Carnegie Mellon University, violinist Cyrus Forough made a career-long
quest to discover the ideal and comfortable means of playing the violin.
For years, he tried almost every shoulder rest available and even spent
a period of time playing without one. It’s not only a matter of
comfort, of course. Violin positioning, while either standing or
sitting, provides a most unnatural situation for the head, neck, back,
and shoulders.

The ideal shoulder rest should support the
instrument and relieve tension while filling up space between your chin
and shoulder. It should provide an anatomical union so as to make
playing feel comfortable and natural. How to create this perfect
shoulder rest brought about the collaboration between Forough and
acclaimed master luthiers and brothers Shahram and Saeid Rezvani. After
some years of discussion and experimentation, while gathering technical
expertise involving production and materials, there emerged the most
perfect shoulder rest – the Performa!

Using only the highest
quality of materials, each Performa features a wider surface area to
distribute the instrument’s weight and player’s pressure evenly on the
shoulder just as when one plays without a shoulder rest. Its patented
design provides comfort never before experienced, resulting in a
miraculous relief from tension and pain.

The Performa Shoulder
Rest is completely customizable. It includes three feet that are
different heights to be adjusted to the desired height. One is 11mm in
length, one is 17mm, and one is 25mm. When when the two shorter feet are
at their lowest settings, Performa becomes the lowest shoulder rest –
as if one is playing without one. The tall 25mm foot is for those who
require an even higher elevation on one or both sides. All three are
available for purchase separately. The soft foam pad that comes on the
shoulder rest is 2mm in thickness. However, if you desire something
thicker, simply swap out the pad for the 5mm option that is included
with every Performa. (The pad is reusable)

The remaining
challenge to completing the task lay in the development of perfect feet
for the Performa. The design, material selection, and gripping integrity
were critical requirements. The inventors would seek out a soft rubber
compound that would not damage the varnish, provide a strong grip so as
to stay in place and provide minimal contact so that there be no
muffling of the sound.

The Performa is an exciting choice for any
player, and most especially one who currently does not use a shoulder
rest but would like to. Playing will feel more organic while the head,
neck, arms, and hands find restrictions and discomfort eliminated. As
Cyrus Forough says: “Never fight gravity when you play. If you do, you
will lose”. The Performa Shoulder Rest allows violin playing to feel
more organic. Performa allows the head, neck, arms, and hands to
function without restrictions and discomfort when placed properly on the
instrument.