The 3 Pillars of Violin Playing

Many people talk about a ‘God given talent’ when it comes to playing the violin. I think, rather, that a good mind, the ability to tie your shoes, and a few guiding insights may suffice to fool an awful lot of people.

You see, I the process of playing the violin is much like a stool. It must have 3 legs to stand.

The first leg is insight into the mechanics of the body as they pertain to playing the violin. One must have, whether gotten intuitively through ‘God given talent’ or through insightful instruction, a detailed picture of how to move the parts of the body necessary for playing in the most efficient manner possible.

The second leg is an effective method of practice. Your practice is not just for conditioning your body to a set of automatic movements through shear repetition. It is, rather, to inform the mind so it can be ‘pro-active’ in the process of playing. This is where people without ‘God given talent’ can often make up a lot of ground – I consider myself to be in this group.

The third leg is musical understanding. Of the three this is the most difficult to counterfeit. In fact, if you don’t love playing – you wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t – it’s a hopeless cause. But if you do love playing, and the elements of musicality – timing, phrasing, ect. – are not intuitively ‘known’ to you, there is much that can be supplied through close contact with a master.

There is one last thing. Having the ability to tie your shoes merely affirms that the manual dexterity is in place to begin or continue the process.

The Kreutzer course is the best way I know for someone without access to a really excellent teacher to craft at least two legs of the stool. If you’re ready for leg number three, ‘Bach and Kreisler’ is your ticket to get started.

Following these you must consider joining me at the next masterclass/seminar.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

No Violin Worshipper

Yesterday I enjoyed a note from a subscriber who shared some details of his violin acquisition. He then asked the following question;

‘Just how important is the instrument (violin/bow) to a concert violinist?’

Let me begin by relating 2 famous stories. In the first Jascha Heifetz was once entertaining well wishers in his dressing room following a concert.

One elderly matron exclaimed, ‘Mr. Heifetz, I just love the sound of your violin.’

Heifetz lifted his violin to his ear and countered, ‘That’s funny, I don’t hear a thing.’

The second is even better. Seems Kreisler was to give a concert in London, way back when. In advance of the concert a well known London Times music columnist wrote, ‘We all look forward to Mr. Kreisler’s performance, particularly to hearing his gorgeous Del Gesu violin once again.’

When this was brought to Kreisler’s attention, he became incensed. He then went to a London violin house and bought an extremely cheap violin.

At the end of the concert, as he was taking his bows to thunderous applause, he lofted this counterfeit into the air and toward the forward rows of the orchestra section. Cheers well replaced by gasps of astonishment as Kreisler spun on his heels and strode to the wings.

Now, to answer the question, let me repeat, I am no violin worshipper. That is not to say I don’t appreciate the work of a great luthier, I certainly do. I just don’t believe that I will ever possess the violin equivalent of a ‘soul mate.’

Violins are tools, for me.

The kind of tool I need has changed over time. I think it likely that I will own several more instruments in my time.

I recognize that others may feel differently. So be it.

The other point I’ll make is that I don’t think one need spend the amount of a home in Beverly Hills to come by an excellent playing violin. I think the cost of a used Corolla is sufficient if you are patient and have a little luck.

Some feel it is the bow that is more important. Even here I beg differ.

Though I will grant that each bow will produce subtle differences in color and volume out of an instrument, I have found that my taste in weight, balance and flexibility all change over time.

In fact, playing with very differently weighted and balanced bows may help reduce stress to your arm and shoulder, to some extent.

Again, the bottom line is, find an instrument whose tone you are drawn to and that is comfortable to play. Price tag be damned.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. There are no better works to self-discover the tone you want out of a fiddle than Bach’s exultant ‘Preludio’ and Kreisler’s fetching ‘Praeludium and Allegro.’ And to draw the best tone your violin has to offer while playing them you will need absolutely pure playing mechanics. Begin ‘fine tuning’ yours today.

A Richer Experience

This morning my wife had some research results up on the computer. Research having to do with how we process music. Pretty interesting stuff.

What I found particularly fascinating is how the cerebellum becomes activated in the process of listening to music. The cerebellum is most frequently associated with coordinating physical movement.

After your brain grasps the underlying rhythm and cadence in a piece of music, your cerebellum senses departures from that equilibrium – places of ‘tension’ in the music – and this triggers a corresponding emotional response. Hence the expression, ‘I was so moved by that music.’

It gets more interesting. Dr. Daniel Levitin, author of the recent book, ‘This Is Your Brain on Music’, describes differences in the way we respond to recorded music versus what we see and hear live.

If you are present at a performance and the player plays a fast, difficult passage while making it appear easy, the visual clues mitigate much of the aural tension. Listeners to a recorded performance, not having the visual ‘relaxing clues’, experience a heightened sense of tension from the same passage.

It all just goes to show that appearances DO matter, at least where it comes to live concerts. If you give the impression that the music is challenging to play, you may fatigue the audience quickly. No one likes watching another person struggle, at least not for very long.

So lets talk recital programming.

It seems to me that you want to first put the audience at ease. Start with music that isn’t too complex, music that flows out of your fiddle quite effortlessly.

Then, once you have gotten your listener’s trust, you play something dramatic – a romantic sonata, for instance. After intermission it’s time for some music with inherent risks – the flashy stuff. Most of the time you want it to look easy. Once in a while you can make it appear difficult.

One thing you want to be clear about, however. For you, the player, it must all feel easy. In this regard you are an actor on stage. Internally you are cool as a cucumber. Externally you can play the audience ‘like a violin.’

One last thing, if this sounds like ‘conventional’ programming, you’re paying attention. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. Just began recording Volumes 3 and 4 of the Kreutzer etudes. If you haven’t started working through volumes 1 and 2 yet, its time to get moving. The secrets to ’cool as a cucumber’ playing are waiting.