Viola, The Un-Violin

Well, I’m back from Tinsel-town USA and beginning to resume my normal routine. Not entirely normal, for the couple of days I’ve switched to playing viola.

Now, as you must know, the viola is often the butt of jokes in the string section. And I must admit I enjoy them as much as anybody. Yet when played by the likes of William Primrose, Paul Neubauer, or any other accomplished player, it’s an instrument of tremendous nobility and expressivity.

Yet the question I’ve been asking myself these past mornings, as I play unaccompanied Bach, Paganini Caprices and Kreutzer Etudes, is this. ‘Is the viola a different beast from the violin, or not.’

My conclusion, in spite of what many violists may say to the contrary, is NO, it is most assuredly not a different beast.

And I’ll even go a couple steps further. Nor is the cello or the string bass, for that matter.

All the instruments of the string family rely on the very same muscle groups to play them effectively. Yes, the longer, thicker and lower the strings are the greater energy is required to set them vibrating. Yet once you are the master of one you can use the same principles to master another in a much abbreviated amount of time.

A number of years ago while on a recording session for the movie ‘Apollo 13’ I asked a friend in the bass section if I could play a few notes on his instrument. After I played for a few of minutes another bass player came over and asked when I studied the bass.

I never had. In fact, I hadn’t tried to play anything on one since junior high school, way back when.

All I did was think like a string player, letting my fingers and arms adjust themselves to the longer string length and greater resistance – I did know up front that the bass is tuned in fourths and that the third finger is avoided in the lower positions.

Now, there is good reason to play another string instrument, now and again. It requires that you take what you know about string fundamentals and adapt them to a different environment. For a violinist it’s good to stretch the fingers, and to involve the large muscles in the back and shoulders to a greater extent.

In my Allegro Players program, in recent months, I have been focusing quite a bit on the use of the muscles in the back – what I call the ‘wing muscles’ – to move the left hand through the positions. And though it may take a little persistence for a newcomer to get the feel of these muscles, the payoff down the line is huge in terms of the security and strength of the left hand.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. I am beginning to post details of my practice sessions on Twitter and Facebook, for those who are interested. My Twitter address is; http://twitter.com/ClaytonHaslop

What I’ll Do for Nerves at the Academy Awards

A few days ago I received an email asking my advice for ‘nerves.’ It was timely, really, as the next day I learned that I will be playing a beautiful solo from the score to the movie ‘Defiance’ on Oscar night – with over a billion people tuned in.

So here’s what I’m doing now, and what I will do Sunday night – by the way, it will come some two thirds the way through the 3 1/2 hour show, when the orchestra performs a medley of the ‘best musical score’ nominations.

First, I memorized the thing, wasn’t difficult as it’s only some 30 seconds in length.

Next, I explored all the fingering choices available to find those that suit the expressive content of the music AND capitalize on the remaining strengths, and newly found strengths, of my technique – bear in mind, my left side is not what it was even a year ago, and I must do things differently to compensate.

Now that I’ve got my hands on it, I’m practicing it in; that is, playing through while I take as many positive mental notes, or pictures, of myself as possible. I’ll be using these images to lead myself all the way through the thing on Sunday.

Let me explain a little more fully how this plays out.

The solo begins with a down bow quarter note E on the D string. In my headset I will be hearing quarter note ‘Clicks’ to which I am to conform; with some artistic license.

As I listen to the 2 clicks before I enter, I will be ‘seeing’ myself play that down-bow E. I’ll be ‘feeling’ the frog of the bow traveling away from my body in a horizontal plane, and my first finger resting easily on the D string.

When I’ve begun the down-bow I will have the next beat playing in my head the same way; and so on, and so on. Right through to the end.

As I do this I’ll be staying mindful of my breathing. Nice, deep belly breaths that relax my neck, shoulders, arms and hands – if you want a little more information on how I do this you can check out my little DVD called Dynamic Breath Control for Violinists.

And finally, I’ll ask myself to verbalize the beats – just in my head, not out loud. Now, as I said above, there will be a ‘click’ going in my headset. You may wonder why I would need to do this.

It’s not to ‘beat time.’

I do it as a further way of keeping myself in the moment; of focusing my mind on the job that I’m doing Right Now. The last thing I want is to allow my imagination to dwell on thoughts such as, ‘Gee, a billion people, that’s sure a lot.’

Now, having taken you through all this there is one more thing to add. What I will play is a gorgeous, heartfelt bit of writing. And the whole point of it is to arose an emotional response in the listener.

So all the preparation I do is really to free myself from ‘me’ and enter a space beyond; the space all those ‘listeners; inhabit. Yet at the same time, as the one playing, I recognize the need for support and control.

And that is what ‘practice’ is all about. Giving yourself the support you need to express yourself fully no matter the circumstance.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. So the short of it is to use your imagination to create positive, accurate images of what you want; find mental tools to keep yourself in the moment and ‘listening’ to them; and breathe life from beginning to end. Now go practice.

Music X Four

Last night we had our first glimpse of the theatre as it has been decked out for Oscar night; Hollywood glamour meets ‘high tech’, I would say. Incidentally, if you tune in on Sunday, you will see me in the first row of violins, second in from the left, when the orchestra is on camera.

Now, a couple of days ago I was asked to write more about my chamber music experiences and, specifically, about what goes into making a successful ensemble.

Most groups fail for one of two reasons. There are either un-resolvable personality conflicts or un-resolvable musical differences.

Being in a small ensemble, like a string quartet, is like being in a marriage. In fact, for some full-time touring groups it is possible one will spend more time with these colleagues than with one’s own spouse.

Instead of one ‘relationship’ to maintain, however, there are six. Just do the math.

And where it comes to the music making itself there are really just two ways, in my experience, for things to proceed fairly smoothly. Either the ensemble functions as a true democracy, or there is one member of the group who is recognized as the team leader, musically speaking.

The level of maturity and self-control required to maintain a successful performing quartet is enormous, really. My hat goes off to groups that manage it for entire careers.

Of course there is the famous quip by Michael Tree, the violist of the Guarneri Quartet, who responded to the question of how they’d managed to stay together for so long by saying, ‘Money’.

I suppose it can be a sad but true reality of any marriage, actually.

Yet from the audience point of view, it only matters that the music making is compelling. What is going on behind the scenes to produce it is of no consequence.

There is even the case of the Budapest Quartet who were known to travel separately to every performance, only even speaking to each other when was absolutely necessary to making music. Not a fun way to share the magic of music if you ask me.

Speaking of behind the scenes, there is nothing so frustrating to me as arriving to a rehearsal to find a member(s) who does not have the part in their fingers.

The secret of playing string quartets well is listening. You can’t listen adequately unless you have no worries with what is in front of you. And this is especially true of rhythm and intonation.

Many people think that pitch is somewhat open to interpretation. And as a soloist this is true. One can push a note one way or another to create either color or tension.

In a string quartet this is almost never the case. With the timbre of the instruments so close, the over-tones and resultant tones must be in absolute agreement. This means there is only one way to play a B flat chord in tune; and that is through accommodation to the laws of acoustics.

When a piano is in the mix things are different, but only insofar as what you have to adjust to. Now you’re dealing with a ‘tempered’ scale, a compromised scale, really, and everyone must bend themselves to accommodate it.

Getting back to rhythm, and time. I’ve never encountered a better way of mastering ‘time’ than the counting technique I teach in my courses. The idea of being able to verbally count the music as you play it should be taught in every conservatory or school of music.

Beating time with a foot, toe or torso is an absolute no-no. It is the use of the MIND to track the flow of time that is essential. And good chamber players must have a rock-solid sense of this.

Now, the idea of mastering time is not to put one in a straight jacket, mind you. It is, rather, a kind of liberation, where one is free to alter the flow of time or hold it absolutely study in service of the music.

One of the best ways to understand how to do this, and practice it, is with my course on the Kreutzer etudes. If you don’t have it in your DVD player it may be time now to get moving on it.

Now I’ve got to get over to the Kodak Theatre for another rehearsal.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. I just have to say this one more time. The ability to listen is fundamental to music making, as it is to so much of life. The more you can sharpen your ears, as a violinist, the more successful you will become.

Oscar Preparations Heat Up

They say that one shouldn’t begin a letter with an apology. Well, I think this one’s good enough to make an exception. The reason you haven’t seen much in your ‘in box’ from me of late has much to do with my being otherwise occupied. First with recording sessions for ‘Up’, Pixars next release, and second with the Academy Award show, which takes place this coming Sunday.

Yesterday the ‘band’ had a special treat when Hugh Jackman, this year’s host, and Anne Hathaway, best actress nominee for ‘Rachel Getting Married’, joined us to rehearse a medley of tunes they will do together.

I had no idea either of these gifted actors could sing, yet sing they do. And quite well.

Much of our work so far has been to ‘pre-record’ bits and pieces of music that will be used when the various stars walk to and from the stage. In fact for this Oscar night the orchestra will play ‘live’, and be onstage, for only two medleys. All of the remaining music you hear will have been previously recorded.

The musical side of this production, however, is quite extraordinary. It involves numerous arrangers, orchestrators and copyists; a ‘band’, chorus and recording staff; all of which are being coordinated and led by the music director/conductor – in this case the highly talented Michael Giacchino.

For the several days we’ve been ensconced at the historic Capital Records building in Hollywood, cases and equipment lie piled everywhere – the guitar player alone must have over a dozen instruments on hand. Walking through the hallways is done single file, and reminds me of trying to board a full airliner.

The amount and diversity of music that must be pulled together, and specially adapted for the occasion, is extensive. Timings are to the second, just as they would be for a film.

And though as concertmaster my part is small in the scheme of things, I have had a few nice solos to play, and a few very challenging ‘charts’ have been set before us.

So there you have it, a little glimpse at the ‘behind the scenes’ action taking place this week. Tonight we move to the Kodak Theater, a few blocks over, to do sound checks. In the coming days there will be additional recording and show run-throughs to keep us busy.

On Sunday, at 5 PM Pacific time, the show begins. I hope you’ll tune in and listen to how we sound.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. This morning I spent some time playing Paganini to stretch out my hand. A great workout indeed!

Thirty Years Ago Today

I don’t often take trips down memory lane, yet today I’m gonna make an exception. I say gunna, ‘cause what did I know back in 1979 anyway.

But there I was, not 22 years old, ready to take the world of classical chamber music by storm. And guess what, in some cities, I think we did, my 3 colleagues and I.

That is, I hesitate to tell, a lot of cities under populations of 50,000.

We were the 4 muskateers in my mind. Heck, the cellist was a pilot. On several occasions we flew our own tour. Eating out every meal, a dream. And I liked being on the road in a car with 3 other people, there was always somebody that wanted to talk.

When the piano quartet was formed, the next youngest member to myself was 29. The pianist and violist were in their early fifties; some 30 years separated us.

The pianist, as we soon found out, liked to drink. I’ve one vivid memory of collecting him at a bar, one morning. He started early and finished late, on tour.

Yet in spite of all, that guy was in a class with Clara Haskill when he sat down to play Mozart. And I liked him, looked up to him, and tried to make music that he would feel good about.

The violist was the only female; an incredibly soulful Jewish girl from New York. Crazy as heck, I would come to feel at times, but someone who MADE you listen when she played.

Our cellist had only a couple years before finished a Master’s degree in chemistry. One day, while sitting in a lab, he thought, ‘I’ve got a choice here. I can spend my life working in a lab, mostly by myself, or I can get back practicing the cello and have a life!’

We were lucky to have him, he made it happen, really. Together the two of us plied the managements, and within the first year had landed a spot on one of the most coveted managements in New York.

Classical music was just reaching the top of a long expansion phase. Today things are tighter, maybe, I don’t really know. Couple years back when I had the New Hollywood String Quartet things seemed a bit tighter. A weeks earnings on the road in the late seventies seemed to go a wee bit further than a weeks earnings on the road in 2002.

Well, anyway, thought I’d just give you a glimpse of what it was like. If you’d like more, just hollar.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. And if you’d like some challenging things to stimulate your love for learning the violin, at any level, you’d better get over and find out how I’m gonna help you out. http://www.violinmastery.com/products.htm

What You Need Between the Notes

Well, I’ve been away for a bit. Only two of the days was I out of town – you gotta hear about them, truly extraordinary – the others were me being a root in rocky soil trying to find a new direction to grow.

Don’t know if you’ve been there, it’s not always a picnic in the park.

But wouldn’t you know, I’ve come out of it with something valuable to offer, so now it’s back to the business of sharing.

Frankly, what I’ve been investigating – ‘cause something in me is forcing me to investigate it – is a new way to play the violin.

If you try to imagine playing the Mozart D Major Violin Concerto with one finger you’ll have a very good sense of what I’ve been up to.

And you’d be MOSTLY right to think it must sound horrendous. Much of the time, in the first couple of days, it was. But now, when my little gray cells are tuned, in just the right way, real magic happens. I’ve been able to play the most tricky virtuosic passages with remarkable clarity, with just one or two fingers on one, sometimes two strings.

And this is with just days of practice.

Now I see that it is no more of an accomplishment to play a Mozart Concerto this way than it is to sing the ‘coloratura’ role of a Mozart Opera.

Another thing I’ve noticed in taking the time for this is that the movements I’m using to do it feel wonderful. And they’ve had a liberating effect on my playing in general.

Now, the secret to it lies inside the left shoulder; specifically in the very types of muscles birds and bats use to fly. They are ‘core’ muscles and if you want to see them used elegantly watch a pigeon bring itself to a landing.

If those wing movements were transferred onto the string of a violin I’m convinced they would produce a wonderful result. Something like Joan Sutherland on the violin.

The good news is, this whole thing is not nearly as difficult as it may sound. In fact I’ve been introducing some basic ‘how-tos’ to my Allegro Players for the past 2 months now, and this month they’ll be ready for my advanced lesson on it.

Come, I invite you to subscribe to this dynamic, full-spectrum of violin learning today.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. Oh yes, I must explain the title of today’s newsletter. This concept has tremendous implications for the expressive potential of your left hand. The major component of left hand expression is not the vibrato, as most think, it’s the underlying flow of arm movement that tells the REAL tale.

How to Master the Fingerboard

As you know, I place quite a bit of stock in how one Thinks when playing the violin. And just to illustrate this a little bit, let me give you an example from my practice this morning.

While warming up I set a goal for myself to play a 3 octave B flat major scale in ‘broken thirds’, rapidly, and using separate bows. Now, if you’re not yet familiar with broken thirds simply think of the following pattern where each number corresponds to a note, or degree, of the scale; 1, 3, 2, 4, 3, 5, 4, 6, etc.

Now in order to complete 3 octaves I had to ascend into the upper positions on the E string and return back down. And this is where my ‘thinking’ really needed to make a difference.

You see, on the way down I was having a little difficulty, at first, with coordinating my down shifts with my right arm. I also noticed that the accuracy of my intonation was slightly off.

And after repeating the little exercise with the same result a second time, it struck me that I, yes I, was being quite lazy. I was trying to let old ‘auto-pilot’ do the lion’s share of the work for me. I was, in fact, trying to avoid thinking at all about pitch locations, form, or anything as I came down.

Yep, wishful thinking, guilty as charged.

Now having had SOME experience in these things I recognized the ‘fix’ immediately. I needed to have a very clear ‘picture’ of the form I wanted my left hand to trace on the way from 9th position on the E string right down to 1st position, and I needed to have a rock-solid sense of the distances between each interval my hand covered along the way.

So what did I do? I resorted, briefly, to my ‘glissando technique.’

Now for those of you well into my Allegro Players you’ll know exactly what I mean by this. It is surely one of the cornerstones of learning the fingerboard.

Yet for those of you not in the program, and hungry for a bit of insight, I can say this. My glissando technique is a way to isolate the movements of the hand/arm up and down the string without the distraction of individual finger movements.

So in this example I used one finger, in this case the 2nd finger, and slid in a controlled, continuous motion from 1st to 9th position, listening intently for the pitches that would become ‘arrival points’ when the passage is played as intended.

In this case we are talking about a series of thirds; G, B flat, D, F and A. Coming down the first shift is a major third, the second a minor third, and so on. Putting the hand in motion and timing it to ‘hit’ each of these pitches accurately while allowing the position of the hand/arm to ‘morph’ as needed to accommodate the shape of the instrument teaches you a lot. And fast.

Now, for the uninitiated this is a little tricky to pick up, in all its subtlety. If you are an ‘intermediate’ player and are having some challenge with shifting and mastering the range of the fingerboard I HIGHLY recommend you consider getting involved with this program.

Remember, I just lowered the tuition to make the Allegro Players truly affordable for all.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop