Biava Quartet Scores Big

You know, Sedona isn’t all beautiful red rock views and crystal shops. One can also hear some pretty fine music making. Yesterday was a case in point.

The four players, Austin Hartman, Hyunsu Ko, Mary Persin, and Jason Calloway, gave sensational performances of Mozart’s ‘Hunt’, Ginastera Quartet No. 1,’ and Grieg’s ‘Quartet in G Minor, Op 27.’

With the exception of slight stutterings in the Mozart, a few beginnings and endings of phrases, the ensemble was spot-on the whole afternoon; their intonation in unisons, uncanny; and the energy, watch out.

Yep, two thumbs up. Go out of you way, if you have to, but get out and see them.

Now, this morning I was continuing with an experiment. It’s progressed from hypothesis, through research and development, to laboratory testing, and is almost ready for field-testing.

Not to worry, I’m not going to blow myself up.

What I’m doing is learning my repertoire in a new way. I’m playing it with one finger.

Yep, one finger, and I plan to do it on the unicycle too, eventually.

Now, before you commit me to an asylum or the wastebasket of your email program, hear me out. This is not the screwy machinations of a Sedona crystal hugger – in some of the shops they ARE big enough to hug.

If you remember Bobby McFarrin you’ll know where I’m going with this. He used to vocalized all manner of instrumental music. And it was Spectacular, from my view.

So here I am, playing the instrument closest to the human voice, and hardly EVER taking advantage of the greatest advantage the two share; pure legato. That is, one pitch can flow seamlessly to another.

Now, the thing is, for it to really work, at the artist level, one has to understand something of process. You’ve got to have technique.

And to acquire the technique you’ve got to understand a thing our two about body control, and how to get it.

It’s the kind of technical understanding I’m getting into deeply with my Allegro Players program these days.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to turn everybody into one-finger-wonders here. It’s all part of liberating yourself to learn the violin.

But what you will take away, with even a basic understanding of the principles involved, is a much greater ability to express yourself on the violin. Your technique will just be BETTER, plain and simple.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. Now for those of you still learning to WALK around the violin, you may get your steps in Ballroom shape by heading over THIS WAY.