Following work I had seen online, I mounted my violin on one of my interferometry tables and scanned it at various frequencies, what I observed is a classic torus resonance, a distinct virtual imaging between one sphere and another... I could also see how that pattern translated to the chin rest. So strings are held between two bridges and are bowed just in front of the back bridge. The sound waves start at that back bridges and radiate through the instrument to the mid position (top of the box) and then resonate the back bridge box out of phase. Sitting at a harmonic just outside the hyperbola... is the chin rest. My impression is different then than this article. ""We wrongly decided that we're going to put them under our chin," Chitwood said." I disagree. I think the premise is solitary, not projected! The viola shape and the placement of the chin rest was the WHOLE POINT. To use the player's head as a bone conduction device, in other words... part of the acoustic properties of the viola. Not only for their accurate listening to project a tune to an audience, but to bring about neuroresonance, so they would ENJOY their own playing. I then extended this even further, I played the viola with my mouth open, and used my chin to press the viola down on my shoulder... and in essence was able to get extra note control out of the instrument. SO... violas are a part of SINGING! Think about it, the viola is a vocal augmentation to the voice of a person. So if anything is 'wrong', its that viola playing is taught with uptight, inhibited, closed mouthed focus... like a statement that says, "Shut up and play!", but likely, the original devices were taught as a part of a choir, where the small orchestra also sang as they played... then, the acoustic path, the 'circuit'... WORKS as evolved, chin piece intact!