The violin string pillow not only allows the fingers to feel the position of the handle, but also cooperates with the piano code to maintain appropriate spacing between each string, allowing the strings to be distributed on the surface of the fingerboard as required. The string pillow is also made of high-quality ebony, which is cut into radial wooden strips along the direction of tree growth. The wood is then cut according to the horizontal length of the string pillow, and excess space is left according to the height and width requirements to process it into square shaped blanks.

Violin string pillow

1. First, select one side as the bottom surface, process and polish it flat, and then use it as the reference surface. Process the other sides according to the height and width requirements of the string pillow, so that the blank becomes a rectangular wooden strip with each side at a right angle to each other. When making, it is necessary to refer to the size of the top of the fingerboard already glued to the neck and the size of the lower end of the pivot box. It is likely that the pivot box will be wider at the pivot box and narrower near the fingerboard. Select one side as the front face of the string pillow, and make sure to process it accurately perpendicular to the reference plane, and grind the surface smooth and polished.

Violin string pillow trimming

2. Place the front of the string pillow against the top of the fingerboard and stick it with a small amount of glue, as long as it won't be knocked off during playing, because when adjusting the fingerboard, the first thing to remove is the string pillow. Then, starting from the top edge of the front, towards the direction of the rotary axis box, along with the back, it is ground into an almost 1/4 circular arc shape. This allows each string to tilt smoothly from the top surface to the axis of rotation with an appropriate curvature, so that the strings will not be cut off due to pressure on the edges and corners when subjected to tension. The edges on both sides of the top surface are also smoothed towards the neck, so that the fingers do not feel uncomfortable, especially near the left index finger, which must be very smooth.

Open the violin string pillow and groove

3. Divide the top surface of the string pillow into three equal parts and evenly cut four semi-circular grooves. The depth of the groove is one-third of the string diameter, and the width is half of the string diameter or the size of the string diameter, which can prevent the strings from shifting and allow them to slide freely during tuning. The slots for strings 1 and 4 are located very close to the wall of the pivot box, so the direction of the slots can be slightly inclined towards the centerline.

The final form of violin pillows

4. In addition, for the convenience of playing, the four strings of the violin and viola are moved towards the bass side together, so that the first string is slightly further away from the edge of the fingerboard. This arrangement allows for greater movement space between the index finger and the edge of the fingerboard, so the strings are not symmetrically distributed on both sides of the centerline on the string pillow. The grooves of the C string of the cello can also be arranged closer to the G string, so that the distance between them is smaller than the equal division value. The C-string groove is closer to the ridge between the G and C strings, which can reduce the difficulty of playing and minimize discomfort.