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.