You know, in all my teaching, the recent masterclasses included, I can count on one hand the number of people who did not have an issue with tension in the left hand. Part of this I think stems from a misunderstanding of proper relationship the fingers of left hand should have with the strings. We’re […]

I just finished practicing, again. Today I had the brilliant notion to sit on our large, inflatable exercise ball whilst playing. You know the kind I mean, 3 feet in diameter, used for exercising one’s ‘core’ muscles kind-of-a-thing. Here’s why playing while sitting on one is a good thing. As I’ve often said, playing the […]

Last night my wife Tania and I sat down and enjoyed a movie together. We laughed while trying to recall the last time we had done so. The film was a Swedish production entitled, ‘As it is in Heaven.’ I don’t think it is even available in this country, which is unfortunate. It’s a marvelous […]

When I put a new piece of music on my stand I recognize that I will go through 4 stages before I take it out to perform. In the initial phase I’m just putting my hands on the notes, so to speak. I’m getting a very general sense of the music and enjoying the thrill […]

One of the reasons that air travel became relatively safer in the later half of the 20th century was due to the adoption of jet engines as the power source of choice for airlines. ‘So what has that to do with violin playing,’ you ask. Plenty, as it turns out. You see, the reason a […]

In the Waldorf philosophy of education – if you haven’t heard about Wardorf, it’s an approach toward education based on the teachings of a brilliant philosopher by the name of Rudolphe Steiner – a great emphasis is placed on developing the young mind through the skilled use of the hands. In short, clever hands make for […]

A few days ago I had a very good violinist from a few states away fly in for one of my half-day intensives. When I say these are intensives I mean just that. We went for over 3 1/2 hours straight with nary a sip of water. She couldn’t believe how quickly the time passed. […]

Yesterday I had a concept running through my head all day long; like a tune you just can’t stop humming. I first read it in a very valuable treatise on self-development penned in the early years of the 20th century by Wallace D. Wattles. Wattles, by the way, is today recognized as the founder of […]

To play your best, in any situation, you must be both relaxed and highly focused. In fact, one of the most important functions of practice is finding that state and learning it so well that you can summon yourself to it at will. No matter what is going on around you. There’s a nice little […]

If you haven’t had anything in your mailbox from me since last Tues., don’t worry. Your spam filter isn’t working overtime. I’ve been taking a wee break, actually. But never fear, I haven’t been idle and will be back at the keyboard soon as I finish my latest humdinger of a course. This one’s a […]

You’ve got to be careful with what you read, even from me, I suppose. Last night I happened to pick up ‘Strings’ magazine to check out what was being written in the ‘masterclass’ pages. Boy, did it get my blood boiling. Not the kind of thing you want just before bedtime. A guy by the […]

One of the things I’ve seen a lot of over the years are shifts that are, well, shifty, for lack of a better word. Think of a person. A shifty person is an uneasy person. They move nervously about because they aren’t comfortable in their own skin. They don’t feel supported by the ground they’re […]

I have a word for you. It signifies what is the greatest slayer of excellence known to Man. Its definition – ‘simultaneous conflicting feelings’. So, what is it? If you’ve thought to yourself, ‘Ambivalence’, give yourself a pat on the back. The elimination of ambivalence, both psychological and physical, is the biggest challenge to face […]

OK, couple more things about the ‘fast bow exercise’. So, tip to frog, rapid strokes. You’re putting the tip where the frog was, the frog where the tip was, back and forth. No spaces between the notes. No finger movements. The wrist, elbow, and upper arm merely respond to the movement of the hand through space. […]

Just as the way we take someone’s hand in welcome reveals what feelings we hold for that person, the way we take up our bow to produce a sound determines what result we will achieve on the violin. The other day I entered a recording studio in Los Angeles after an absence of several months. […]