Where The Life Force Is

Yesterday I wrote a little on vibrato. Tonight I’m thinking of where the real emotive power of your playing resides. The item you use to reach into your listeners very soul. I’m speaking of the bow arm, of course.

When I listen to the greats play – the ones that can cause me to weep as readily and effortlessly as they make my heart overflow with joy – I hear tone, first and foremost.

Through the tone of a violinist emanates his or her very life force.

Sir Thomas Beecham said, ‘great music making contains at once the maximum of virility and the utmost of sensitivity.’ How right he was.

If a player is all machismo and technique, but has not vulnerability in equal measure, it counts for little, really. The same must be said for the one who goes to emotional extremes to play for my feelings but displays no discipline or internal order.

So, how do you come by the right mix and infuse your bow arm with it.

To begin with, you unlock the power of your breath. Breathing simultaneously gives you energy and brings relaxation. When you have the power of breath as your ally and move it through your bow arm out to the strings of your violin, you can cause your audience to breathe in concert with you. It is pretty much a given, at that point, that they will feel what you feel.

Let me repeat, when you have the feeling of the music inside of you, you are going to ‘breathe’ it through your bow arm out to your audience.

Now, if this is all that need be said to transform a person’s playing into greatness, I would be going out of business real soon.

Thankfully, for me at any rate, it isn’t all.

There are the details of playing in tune, shifting well and cleanly, learning how to make beautiful portamentos, acquiring sound and efficient bow strokes, and yes, getting to the soul of the music so one has something to breathe about.

My Kreutzer course will get you well on your way. So if you’re reading this newsletter regularly, don’t have it, and are serious about the violin, you ought to get a copy headed your way right now.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. Several of you are on the fence about the masterclass; I can FEEL it. The only way you’re going to have regrets over this is if you make the decision to keep yourself away. What you need to do is take five belly breaths right now. And as you do them see if you can feel my energy reaching out to you. That should make doing the right thing for yourself a great deal easier. Carpe Diem!

How To Improve A Vibrato

When I think of the great names of violin playing and what the most identifying elements of their playing are, vibrato comes up near the top of the list.

Vibratos, like fingerprints, are quite individual.

Mischa Elman, whose tone is legendary, had a very full, lush vibrato for much of his career. And he generously applied it to everything he played.

Jascha Heifetz’ was extremely fast though he had quite a bit of amplitude in it, so it didn’t sound like a bleating lamb the way many do with ultra-fast vibratos.

Of course, for my money Fritz Kreisler had the most beautiful vibrato of all. It had energy, relaxation, virility, and sensitivity; all at the same time. How can those all be present at the same moment. Well, you’ll have to ask him next time you see him.

When I was in my mid-teens my vibrato was very much on the slow, laconic side. I had very good tone production, however, so the result was not terribly unappealing.

Once I began listening to the great players in earnest, however, I wanted something more.

I realized that I had to train my vibrato as I trained every other technique on the violin. I also benefited from some truly knowledgeable teachers; Milstein the most notable of them.

In the process I learned a tremendous amount about what goes into creating a really first class tone. And vibrato is just one part of it.

The good news is that all I know is coming available to you. And just so you know what you have to look forward to, ‘Kreutzer For Violin Mastery, Vol. 3’ will have a great deal to say about tone production and vibrato.

In the meantime, make full use of volumes 1 and 2.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. If you’ve a mind to transform your playing PRONTO, you really

He Knocks My Socks Off

There are many a fine player of the violin today. But for my money there is one that really stands out. If you don’t know the name Maxim Vengerov, you should.

Here’s a guy with chops up the whazoo and an expressive range that leaves me speechless. Next time you’re cruising YouTube or your nearest CD store you owe it to yourself to check him out.

I notice, by the way, that he allows the violin to rest rather deeply in his left hand, probably because his fingers are not as long as others.

I don’t think everybody would have success doing this. In fact Milstein counseled me specifically against it.

It does go to show, however, that each person is unique. We all must make certain adjustments and accommodations, within certain parameters, to our individual physique.

The trick is in understanding the parameters. And that is where Kreutzer for Violin Mastery comes in. The insights you derive from the course will afford you great fundamental skills while leaving room for individual tweaks. If you haven’t gotten your copy there is no better time than NOW.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. Tania and I were present at Vengerov’s Carnegie Hall debut several years ago, an amazing performance. Of course we had to go back stage and congratulate him. He received us as warmly as if we were lifelong friends – a beautiful human being as well.

P.P.S. We are getting down to the wire for the masterclass/seminar. With only a few spots remaining I would advise you make the commitment to benefit your playing and your musical life by reserving your spot right now.

How To Transform Stage Fright

Today’s write in comes from Sheila who has a concert bearing down on her this week. She emailed the following;

‘Right now, I would like some urgent advice. This coming Saturday, the second of December, we are going to have our end of term concert. I have practiced and know all my notes. In the class, I play well, though my bow goes a little faster. My teacher says my tuning is excellent. But now I have to face the audience.

Please, please give me some advice, how do I stay cool and calm? I know all eyes will be on me. At the last concert, I got so nervous my bow was absolutely out of control.’

Well, Sheila, you are going to have a little chat with your bow arm. Your’re going to tell it, in no uncertain terms, what you expect from it on Saturday. NO RUSHING AHEAD.

And just to make sure it behaves, you’re going to promise to count to yourself silently as you perform on Saturday. And you’re going to do a little extra practice this week while counting out loud. You do count as you practice, I presume.

When you arrive at the church for the performance, you will play through your piece slowly while counting and belly breathing.

As you walk out to perform you are going to see yourself beginning your piece, and counting as you play.

Then, you will put your fiddle to your chin and DO IT. Count, Visualize, and Breathe.

You will give Your performance. The audience will be present but they will have no impact on what You Do. I trust this is clear to you, Sheila.

Now that we all know what Sheila will be doing on Saturday we’ll expect a little report from her on Monday. In fact I’ll include it in the newsletter. Let’s all wish her well.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. I also had a question about hearing loss due to violin playing. I am not aware of it causing hearing loss. There have been reports of orchestra members seated right in front of brass or loud percussion instruments having damaged hearing, however. So if you do a lot of orchestral playing and you sit in front our a 250 pound trombone player some hearing protection might be in order.

What You Must Get From A Teacher

Got a note from a subscriber the other day who feels frustrated with the quality of the teaching she is getting.

Now, there are many, many wonderful teachers out there and, of course, there are more than a few not up to the task.

The fact is, no one teacher is going to be the ‘be all’ for every player; maybe not for any ONE player either.

Our needs change as we grow and progress. You must, as in the case of our friend, be sensitive to whether your needs as a human being AND a violinist are being met by the person you’re going to for trustworthy council.

I personally know several people, for instance, who were quite damaged emotionally from their study under Jasha Heitetz, as great a player as he was. This made it almost impossible for them to perform in public for many years after.

On the other hand, a great number of players would also say they benefited tremendously from their time with that great master.

What is vital is that there be a psychic, emotional, or intellectual bridge between player and teacher – the magic happens when all three are present – that allows for the transference of INSIGHT.

If you’re not acquiring actual insight from your lesson time you’re doing yourself a great disservice.

What I am communicating through my DVD courses are the insights I have into playing the violin. They are, in fact, the essence of my passion. If some measure of it strikes a chord and becomes ‘in-sight’ when viewed by you then I have served you well.

I certainly hope this is the case.

One last point, another subscriber kind of took me to task for an email I sent some time back. In that newsletter I had given a little musical advice for repetitive passages in Bach. He felt there was so much more to be said it was almost trivial to say anything.

The point is well taken to some extent. It is rather presumptuous to take on the musical fine points of Bach in an email.

My real point, however, was just that one should not be too predictable in one’s playing, otherwise a listener looses interest, even in Bach.

A newsletter, however, is indeed a poor vehicle to communicate musical nuances. A much superior vehicle is the masterclass. There are a few seats still available for mine in January. I urge you to come, be a part, and feel the magic.

Insights will abound.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. This morning I finished the taping on my first repertoire course; Bach E Major ‘Preludio’ and Kreisler ‘Preludium and Allegro’. These are great pieces to study after getting through Vol. 1 of the Kreutzer course. Come early next week I’ll have a great pre-publication offer for you to take advantage of. In the meantime get yourself into volume 2 of the Kreutzer series now.

Coming In From The Cold

I don’t know about where you are, but the temps are getting pretty cool out here in Appalachia.

This morning I did a silly thing. Tuesday is trash and recycling day in our neighborhood and I got up early to beat the pick-up. Everything was going fine ‘til I tried to come back in the back door. Locked.

Every door was locked and I didn’t have a key. Tania and Clara were still snoring away and I couldn’t roust them with the doorbell. It was 25 degrees outside and I had only thrown on a very light jacket.

Well, I decided my best bet was to take a brisk walk around the neighbor to stay warm. 15 minutes later I was back and still no one up to open a door.

At that point I remembered a door on the 2nd floor that we don’t keep locked. Out came a ladder and in I went.

Twenty minutes later I began practicing. My hands were still cold as ice. When you find yourself in that state warm up slowly. I first played some slow, 2 octave scales with a full tone and relaxed vibrato. After 5 minutes or so I went to 2 octave scales on one string with arpeggios, a good way to get up and down the fingerboard quickly.

Gradually I intensified my vibrato to where I like it.

Just remember, as winter takes hold you need to allow more time to warm up. As you get moving, up the energy level until the inner fire is blazing. THAT’s the way to do it.

Now one more thing. I had some wonderful responses to my request for testimonials. Thank you all VERY much.

One stands out. Not because of what it says about me but because of what it says about the author’s character. Here’s a little excerpt.

‘As a young child, growing up in the early thirties, I fell in love with a Hungarian gypsy violinist’s playing when he performed in Calgary. My parents later purchased a John Juzek violin for me, and I think I was a good student of my English violin teacher. But like all good things that have to end, my playing ended because of the economic environment we were in. I put the violin away, hoping to get back at it sometime in the future.

The future was a long time coming. I semi retired, but I’m not about to become an old man and play old man games, like golf. I needed something that would keep my mind challenged.

I will never be a concert violinist, but I do hope that my playing will improve from a Jehudi Wanabee to something better. I can actually gauge my playing from the reaction of my wife. When it is bad, she will escape to the TV room. Lately she has not been doing this.

If there is any inspiration you can get out of this e mail, please use any part of it for you see my only desire is to let old people know that old is just an adjective which never needs to apply to life. If Milstein was still playing at the age of 79, there is a goal for me to aspire to. Again, many thanks,’
Andy Olah

Well, Andy, you’ve certainly made my day. And I’m certain a good many people reading this will feel the same. We wish you a wonderful adventure!

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. Speaking of adventures, we’ve had people call in and ask if they can bring orchestral excerpts to the masterclass. By all means. The point is to get you playing the heck out of the violin. Schumann #2 Scherzo, Mozart #39…bring it on!

Move Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Over the years there is one thing I have patently avoided, especially where my playing is concerned. It’s allowing myself to feel that I’ve ‘arrived’.

For me it’s the very kiss of death. In my observation of others, you begin to see it first in the eyes. The ‘hungry’ look is replaced by the ‘satisfied’ look. After a time, however, the ‘satisfied’ look is inevitably replaced by the ‘resigned’ look. Not long afterward, the ‘tired’ look peers out. The downward spiral is almost complete.

Is this inevitable, no, ‘tis not. Not for me. And not for you.

It’s all about our thinking. There is nothing wrong with taking note of your accomplishments. In fact it’s important to do so. There IS something wrong, for a committed violinist, with feeling, ’I’ve become the best I can be.’

If there is one thing I learned from Milstein, he was 79 when I first met him, it is to never stay in your comfort zone. ALWAYS have your focus out in front of where you find yourself. The game is about figuring out how to get what you can see there.

It’s the fun, and the reward. But you must be continually creating new challenges for yourself. That’s where the real creative action is.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. Speaking of creative action, reserve one of the few seats remaining at the violin Masterclass/Seminar and you will initiate a growth spurt of life transforming dimensions. It will be as if the incandescent headlights lighting the musical path before you were replaced with 500 watt xenon headlights. Oh, what insight.

Be A Violinist First

Yesterday we were at a concert of our local symphony orchestra. Surprisingly there was some very good playing to listen to. Unfortunately there was also some playing that had us squirming in our seat.

On the second half of the concert the conductor had programmed ‘Scheherazade’ of Rimsky Korsakov. Big mistake. The concertmistress was not anywhere near up to her assignment.

That she even consented to it is a sign of a lifetime of mistaken priorities.

I know this because I know the type. The type that thinks they are superior violinists even though they couldn’t play cleanly through a three-octave scale to save his or her life. The type that thinks ‘technique’ is somehow a dirty word.

For a while this player gets by; partly on natural ability, partly on chutzpah. In her case, mostly on chutzpah, I fear.

Most of the people around her either didn’t have the nerve to stand up to her ego or else they just didn’t want to bother.

Well, the point is, you don’t want to be that kind of player. Learn the technique of the violin first, then you can play all the repertoire you want. It takes energy, dedication, and discrimination to ‘get it right.’

Commit yourself to it. Get worked up about it. Put real energy into it.
And take as your examples the best there is, the truly world-class players.

You mustn’t ever forget to keep you fundamentals sound. That’s what the Kreutzer course is about. It’s as good a place to hone your technique as there is, plain and simple.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. The ultimate test of where you’re at on the violin is in a masterclass environment. By coming to Violin artistry Masterclass/Seminar this January you will have the opportunity

In Tune And In Time

The title of this newsletter, ‘In Tune And In Time’ is a catchy little phrase I see every time I work at Fox Pictures – they’re framed and hang over the entrance to the music department.

Playing in tune and in time are the two greatest concerns of a string player. For me, the process of mastering them is a great source of pleasure and satisfaction. If you feel otherwise I must submit to you that you’re in danger of spoiling your relationship to the violin.

Just stay with me for a moment.

When we hear ourselves play an out of tune note it’s akin to registering pain due to the misuse of our body. It’s a sign that we need to alter something we’re doing. If we didn’t experience pain we would continue the abuse until bodily failure occurred. There would be no internal growth or transformation.

Growth and maturity happen when we learn to make corrections.

The same is true of playing. If we’re conscious while practicing we’ll not only hear sour notes but also be aware of the finger sensations that went along with them. Awareness leads to more informed adjustments, and to clearer intentions at the next playing.

It is all about waking up, really.

Though sometimes we convince ourselves otherwise, increased self-awareness is what we are all seeking.

On a more personal note, let me briefly describe what I experienced this morning. I arose very early in order to record while the house and neighborhood were quite. My current project, which you will hear more about soon, is about creating instructional DVDs on repertoire that works well with Kreutzer for Violin Mastery – a good reason to pick up your copy, if you don’t already have one.

One of the pieces is the Bach E Major ‘Preludio’. In any case, after doing a couple hours of work on the teaching side of things I tried to perform it. First couple of takes were really rough, I felt tired.

Suddenly it dawned on me that I was trying to avoid making mistakes. I wasn’t engaged. The last two takes were like a different player. I just said to myself, ‘Alright, just physically produce what you are able to image.’ That was all it took to get into an affirmative mode of thinking; a creative state. It made all the difference.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. The Violin Artistry Masterclass/Seminar will be a one of a kind opportunity to get into this space with me for 3 days. Having me next to you drawing attention to each trick the insecure subconscious mind plays in its attempt to foil self-awareness will transform more than just your playing. There are a few seats still remaining; come join me.

On Doing ‘This’ Versus Doing ‘That’

Many of us today have difficulty staying on track with practice. Milstein told me it was easy for him to practice when he was young because there was literally nothing else to do in Odessa in those days.

We, on the other hand, are bombarded with options for spending our time. Some are relatively easy to say no to; television, for instance. Others are not. Amongst those, are the things we must do; raising children, getting food on the table, and taking out the trash. Everyone must do them, and for good reason.

But there is a class of things that clamor for our time that aren’t essential, but are, for a very powerful emotion, difficult to say no to.

They are the ones that arouse feelings of guilt if we don’t act on them.

Answering chit-chat emails from friends and family, volunteering for this or that committee, staying ‘in the know’ of current news events; these are the ones that require not just discipline but courage as well to stand up to.

Ask yourself this question, ‘Does reading ‘Time’ magazine, or writing an email to ‘so and so’, or setting up chairs for ‘such and such’ fundraiser give me the same spiritual, intellectual, and physical reward as mastering my chosen instrument?’

If so, you can ‘advance token to GO and collect $200.00,’ as the Monopoly card says. If not, steel your courage and banish the guilt that’s compelling you to spend time in ways that don’t serve your ultimate goal.

The rewards can be enormous.

More quality personal time, more peace of mind, less stress, AND the ability to pick up your fiddle and really change other peoples life experience with the music that flows through it.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. Once you have created the space for more quality time on the violin, there is no better way to enjoy it than by mastering the practice techniques and playing fundamentals contained in Violin Mastery Mastercalss/Seminar.