Investigation into Chin-Force of Violinists

Pain and discomfort have become a routine part of life for many orchestral musicians. Violinists in particular experience high number of injuries in their upper body, including the neck, shoulders, and arms. Force applied to the instrument at the chin provides the stabilization of the instrument required for performance but may contribute to these injuries. Due to the scarcity of research on musicians' physical health, it is challenging to determine the sources of musculoskeletal injuries in violinists. Nonetheless, examining the force applied at the chin could serve as a valuable starting point for investigation. PURPOSE: To investigate how chin-force is affected by different violin techniques. METHODS: Participants (n = 4, 1 male, 3 females; age: 25+4 years) were recruited to complete four different playing conditions at two different speeds, 80 beats per measure (bpm), and 130bpm, on a C major scale: medium loud (mf), very loud(ff), very quiet(pp), and medium loud with vibration(mfv). The force sensing Loadpad was placed on top of the violin’s chin-rest, and force data was collected while playing. Average forces during each playing condition were compared. Cohen’s d effect size was calculated to compare the two different speeds for each technique. RESULTS: On average, chin-force was higher for 80bpm than 130bpm for all four playing conditions: medium loud (80bpm: M= 25.50+6.41N, 130bpm: M= 19.93+5.37N, d= 0.94), very loud (80bpm: M= 20.66+1.98N, 130bpm: M= 17.48+3.35N, d= 1.16), very quiet (80bpm: M= 16.86+3.87N, 130bpm: M= 16.49+5.05N, d= 0.08), and medium loud with vibration (80bpm: M= 21.69+5.51N, 130bpm: M= 21.62+5.74N, d= 0.01). CONCLUSION: The higher forces observed at 80bpm suggest that slower tempos may place greater physical strain on violinists. While these initial findings offer valuable insight, once we have fully enrolled the study, we will also compare the force among the different techniques. Additionally, beyond the scope of this work, further research is warranted to explore how these factors might contribute to injury prevention.