What Violinist Ray Chen Can’t Live Without

Until literally one or two months ago, I was playing on aStradivarius violin that was on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. That term ended and now we’re in this middle period of finding a new instrument. I also have my own modern instruments that I really love. I have three by the same maker. He’s an American maker. Many well-known people use his instruments, but what I love about him is he’s just so humble. His name isKurt Widenhouse, and he’s based out in North Carolina. “I just make fiddles,” he’ll say. He’s so charming, and the violins he makes have a very unique tone to them. I have three, as I said. One was made in 2008, another in 2014, and the final one in 2016.

Other people like TwoSet Violin, Brett and Eddy, play his instruments. My former teacher, Aaron Rosand, who passed away, had multiple instruments. He was actually the one who introduced me to Kurt. Even if you have a Strad, it’s always good to have a backup. If you love violin, or you love whatever instrument that you play, it’s most likely that you’ll nerd out so much that you can’t help but get another instrument. On top of that, these instruments are actually affordable. The Strads are just so outpriced beyond the reaches of any professional musician these days.

[Editor’s note: Kurt Widenhouse makes custom violins, but you can also find them secondhand.]

The bow I use is a French bow. It’s said that the French make the best bows and the Italians the best violins. Maybe it has to do with the French language. The French understand drawing out different colors and shades of colors. And the Italians understand the zest in the sound, the zing that comes from the violin. Then you combine the two, and you get a very wondrous golden varnish. The bow simultaneously draws out the sound and polishes it, creating this interwoven texture that, when you have the right combination, produces this golden sound that people love so much in the violin.

Also, the bow is able to efficiently transmit all of the tiny vibrations. Let’s say you’re trying to create a sound that’s yearning. If you imagine the body language of someone who’s got yearning in their heart, they’re sort of closed in, chest closed in, with this kind of bittersweet expression. When you create that motion, a good bow is able to transmit that face. It’s like the sound becomes more closed in. And then, of course, you have all the little gestures of, let’s say, heartache, and you’re drawing your breath in. You draw the bow that same way as well, and it just comes out like that. And bad bows, on the other hand, kind of all sound the same no matter what you do. That’s the best I can describe it.

[Editor’s note: Dominique Peccatte bows can often be purchased at auction.]

I turn pages with my foot, because my hands are busy. There’s this device made by AirTurn that I’ve used since before the iPad even came out, by the way. I used it plugged into a computer screen like a tablet with a USB antenna. I remember back in 2009, when I was at the Queen Elizabeth Competition, which was the competition that really set off my career, we were playing this very, very complicated piece by a contemporary composer, and there’s no moments where you can turn the page. This was before the iPad. All the other contestants had the sheet music: Some people spread it across three music stands, taped together. Other people minimized the sheet music and put it on a piece of cardboard. And I just came on stage with this tablet — literally, it was an HP computer that could fold back on itself — and I had this antenna stuck in it and this foot pedal. I put it on one music stand, and I just played it from beginning to end. And I remember people were just like, “What?” Mind blown.

I guess it’s kind of embarrassing to talk about, but everyone’s ear shape is different, and I learned that my ear holes, especially the one on my right, is slightly larger. Normal earplugs would always fall out. These are just a lot bigger. When I was at the beginning of my tours, I was staying in very low-cost hotels where the walls were thin, and you could hear people in the hallways all the time, and I’d be jet-lagged and just trying to get sleep. And then there was all the traveling, and I figured,Okay, I need earplugs.Then they became almost like a security blanket for my ears. Even when my career leveled up and I was staying in much nicer hotels, I still couldn’t sleep without them. Even in my own bed, I still have them now, and if one falls out in the middle of the night for some reason, I get a little anxiety. I always have a few stacked on my bedside table.

I use only this one brand, and it’s pretty amazing. The thing about this neck pillow that I love so much about it is that it inflates and deflates very, very quickly. It has this button, and when you blow into it, it blows up super-fast, and then when you deflate it, you press the button and it just deflates in two seconds. It also doesn’t have the weird edges. Some neck pillows are just badly made. And you can store this one away very easily. Also, with inflatable pillows, you can adjust the air when you’re higher in the sky. When you first take off, it’s one size, but then the air pressure lessens and the pillow gets more inflated, and you can very easily let out some air.

For violinists, our neck is so important to take care of. It’s always turned slightly — or sometimes a lot — to the left. It causes a ton of strain, especially if you’re playing difficult repertoire and you don’t even realize how much time has passed in this uncomfortable position. It’s compounded by all the travel. If you don’t have a neck pillow and you sleep in a weird position on a flight, it’s game over. Your neck is a part of the instrument at that point.

[Editor’s note: Ray Chen’s exact model of neck pillow is currently sold out, but this one is similar.]

After trying different massage balls, I now opt for the really hard ones. Some of them are more rubbery, but I like a more hard-plastic feel to it. Too big or too small and you can’t go deep enough, so you’ve got to find the right size for you. You can do it on the floor; you can do it against the wall. I use it for my traps, from my neck to the shoulder, that part of the muscle group. Everyone uses a phone these days, so everyone’s neck is just in a terrible position. This thing just resets it. Whenever I use it, there’s always this crunching across my traps. I use it before bed every night. I sometimes use it on my arms and my hands as well. I used to travel with a whole Theragun, but then I realized that with the Theragun, you kind of need someone else to do it for you. And if you’re not careful, it’ll wreck your skin. This is so much lighter and you can just go hard with it.

Tonicis a live-stream music-practice app I co-created that helps people share their music practice. It helps people solve the problem of being very lonely and isolated when they’re practicing their instrument. You’re usually on your own in your bedroom or living room, and it’s something you have to do for your next lesson or your next performance, but you haven’t been practicing for that environment. It’s obvious why people then suffer from performance anxiety. With Tonic, there’s this social element where people can drop in. Imagine a long row of practice rooms at any music school or conservatory. Listeners can drop in, cheer them on, give feedback, and even become friends. It’s very similar to the summer-camp or the music-school experiences that I had when I was growing up. I was thinking about what motivated me the most. Through the social aspect of it, people get motivated to practice. There’s also a gamification side to it. I’ve heard that it’s a little like a cross between Duolingo andAnimal Crossing.

It’s completely free and the whole platform is extremely supportive. You can imagine that, because it livestreams on the internet, most parents would be like, “Oh, hell no.” That was the first thing that we addressed. No video, no DMs — just a safe space for musicians to be able to hone their craft. And by musician, we want everyone who has ever played or is thinking of playing an instrument to identify themselves as that. In no other sport would you be like, “Oh, I love basketball, but I’m no Kobe Bryant.” It’s like, What?Why would you say that? But here in our world, it’s a little bit like that. I think it’s very intimidating, so we strive to make it less intimidating.

As a listener, you don’t even have to be able to play any instruments. You can go on and treat it like a radio through which you can actually interact with a player. You could comment “Hi” and “You sound so great.” That creates value for both sides. The listener gets to feel like,Oh, wow, there’s an incredible person playing for me, live.And then the person who’s practicing, who had to do it anyway, feels seen and supported. It’s a really cool symbiotic relationship that we’ve discovered. My co-founder and I launched this two years ago, and we already have 300,000 users worldwide. Nowadays, whenever I’m preparing for my next performance, I’m always on Tonic because I want to re-create that live concert experience for people and also experiment in there.