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Beware the Violinist’s ‘Autopilot’
You have done it, I have certainly done it, virtually all of us have done it at one time or another. You know what I am talking about. Picking up the fiddle and playing through something with no conscious thought whatsoever. The fingers and bow moving as if by magic; muscle memory at the helm. […]
Like Little Hammers Hitting the String
Have you been told for as long as you can remember to make your fingers strike the fingerboard like little hammers? Often it’s not a bad idea. But in highly legato Adagio music the effect can be dreadful. Almost 30 years ago I was engaged to play the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra […]
How to Deal with Limitation
A couple days ago I was checking out a posting on a well known violin site. It seems a young person has been working the ‘Rondo Capriccioso’ of Saints-Saens and has reached the upper limit of her up bow staccato. Only problem is, it aint fast enough to fit into the piece. Now, she seems […]
How Failure Can Work For You
A few years ago I auditioned for the concertmaster chair of the LA Phil. I successfully negotiated 3 rounds of auditions and a chamber music session. Then, the audition committee unanimously recommended that I play with the orchestra. Well, it was not to be. Those of you who know orchestra politics will know that these […]
Bowing Balderdash, Why You Shouldn’t…
I saw something on the web today that really jerked my string – no, not my G string. I was cruising a few websites to see what was up with instructional DVDs for violin, and I happened on to a little ‘demo’ of detaché bowing at the frog. Now, to begin with, the quality of […]