How to Tell a Muscle to Relax

Just spent an hour going back to basics. And I DO mean basics. Open strings, slow scales without vibrato, etc.

Now, before you think, ‘I don’t need this sort of thing, I’m beyond it,’ I’d listen to what you’re going to hear in this newsletter.

99% of violinists playing today would benefit from this kind of review on a regular basis. And I’ll give you an example of why.

In the world of recording for film, ask any concertmaster how to make even whole notes difficult and he or she will say, ‘write ‘solo’ over them.’

Yep, when adrenaline is pumping through your veins, something you’ve taken for granted for years can reach out and bite you, big time. I’ve seen otherwise extraordinary violinists develop ‘the shakes’ over such things.

Now, I can’t tell you how many inquiries I get the have to do with tension, and the results of tension – it’s the over tensing of muscles that gives one the shakes as well as all other many of difficulties on the violin.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the violin has 30% to do with learning how to flex muscle and 70% with how to relax muscle.

So if you want to improve, no matter what age you are, concern yourself with relaxation.

This being said let me try to give you some ideas – by the way, these are for my friend asking about ‘the shakes’ during shifts as well the gentleman asking about tremors in his up bow stroke. And, as I’ve said, 99% of anyone else reading this.

Number one, use the power of your breath. Yea, I know, you’ve read this before here. But I’ll bet most of you reading this forget to do it, or haven’t taken the time to master ‘belly-breathing’ away from the violin to the point it is easy to do while playing. Here’s where you can get some specific info on the technique if you need it. http://www.violinmastery.com/order_breathcontrol.htm

Number 2, slow down. Way down. Today I spent most of my session playing 16th notes as if they were half-notes.

Number 3 – and this is a big one – once you’re in motion on a note and breathing from your diaphragm, be alert for muscle contractions that ANTICIPATE your next move. This is the greatest single obstacle you must overcome as you progress.

There are two reasons this is so. Let’s say your first challenge on the violin is to draw open strings with a good tone. The greatest challenge to doing this is at the extremes of the bow, one finds.
And as a result there is a certain amount of apprehension that develops over it.

Apprehension breeds tension. Yet most of us, in the impatience to move forward, find a way to relegate that fear to the unconscious. The tension and poor habit that result for it remain, but the conscious marker of fear has been dismissed.

Then comes string crossing. Again, there is apprehension, which gets sublimated, and the adoption of poor habits, which form as the body compensates for something not fully mastered.

And this process, continued over years of study, in some cases, leads to where you are today. What I see in the form of ‘mannerisms’ in many professionals, even, are the artifacts of missed opportunities, really; that is, missed opportunities to fully ‘listen to’ and address apprehensions fully as we go about learning.

The good news is, it’s never too late to go back and address the effects of ‘bodily apprehensions’, if you will.

As I said above, the first step is getting into a relaxed state to begin with. Hence the breathing.

Then play slowly, and evenly. Yes, my counting technique can be used to excellent effect here. It’s a way of getting yourself focused ‘on the now’ – a rather clichéd expression, but true nonetheless.

Once you’re in this space you can open your feeling sense to the ‘anticipations’ that lead you into tension. Even in attempting to hold a note steady you may find unwanted muscles turning on, especially if you’ve begun entertaining the note to follow.

And there is your opportunity, handed to you as if on a platter. Now you can breathe and exercise the power of your mind to let go.

Be patient, sometimes the offending muscle(s) will come back at you after you initially direct it to relax. This is VERY common.

Once this process becomes a hallmark of your practice your results will skyrocket. And if you’d like a good companion in the process I can’t think of anything better than a review of my Beginners Circle course which, by the way, has just been reduced 11% to make it even more of a value in these challenging times.

All the best,