A Great Way to Enjoy Time

Well, here I am. And I’m happy to report the master class went extraordinarily well over the weekend. Matter of fact I’d say it was, as promised, the best so far.

‘So what were the differences that made it so,’ you may be thinking.

Each time I conduct one of these I become clearer on how to best structure the class, how much to allow folks to play versus how much I demonstrate and explain.

This class went seamlessly and fluidly, covering virtually are aspects of violin playing in a way that could benefit many levels of playing.

That’s no small feat, me thinks.

In fact I was so inspired by what took place I’m thinking to celebrate the arrival of Fall with another one. So do stay tuned.

Now, one of the marvelous accomplishments of the class was bringing home what it means to ‘play in time.’ In order to fully enjoy playing the violin one must, after all, understand something of playing in time.

And as you yourself may feel, quite a number of players find this challenging to do, when the music starts filling up with black – you know what I’m talking about, the fear of getting behind or losing time when you’re confronted with difficult passages.

Most folks actually rush forward and get ahead of ‘the time’ when confronted with a lot notes. Fact is, there is more time than you think.

And that’s just for starters.

The trick to overcoming the tendency to lose track of time is the trick of learning how to breathe.

It’s the trick of truly learning how to take possession of the beat.

It’s the pleasure that comes from understanding and taking the time to enjoy the rich combination of pure, efficient movements that comprise violin playing.

Funny thing about the whole thing is, the more one enters into all the above, the more enjoyment and gratification gets extracted from each passing moment.

Well, that’s about all I have to say today. But before I go let me just leave you with this little tidbit. In a couple of days it will be celebration time for a couple of other reasons than the completion of a master class.

And I’m going to bring you into the celebration in a very SPECIAL way. Maybe you know what I’m getting at. In any case, don’t go far from your computer this week. You don’t want to miss what I’ve got heading your way.

All the best, Clayton Haslop