Got the fiddle out this morning and had a go for the first time since my wee-BOOM last Tuesday. Pretty much a non-starter, unfortunately. But I Can type with both hands now, and I just learned from my doc that the MRI did NOT reveal any tearing of my rotator cuff. No Surgery required. Now […]

Eight years ago, just after Memorial Day, my violin and I felt weary. I’d just finished one of the busiest Springs I’d ever had. Probably worked on close to 20 films in a three-month period, and managed to squeeze in several chamber music concerts to boot. So I told my wife I was packing up […]

The last two mornings I’ve been spending some time resuscitating an old friend. His name happens to be Don Juan. Maybe you know something of him. Some, like Mozart, have thought him a libertine; an aggressive, womanizing rogue with no conscience. Richard Strauss knew him somewhat differently, more as a social delinquent; an unrepentant misfit. […]

If you were reading a couple of weeks ago you know I’ve been plotting to do a master class in the extraordinary Western Lands of Sedona. Well, it’s all set to go. ALL ABOARD for the best darned, whistle-blowin’, rootin’-tootin’ violin experience you’ll find west of the Mississippi. Oh, and just so you know, I’m […]

Yesterday I got a question about memory from a gal set to play the last movement of Lalo’s ‘Symphonie Espagnole’, no small accomplishment. And by the way, it’s not just any performance, it’s her violin jury at school. But there’s a problem. It seems she has difficulty remembering music when playing in front of others. […]

When I was an even younger bloke, quite a few moons ago, my teachers would often complain that I played too fast. But though I understood the words they were speaking, and would try to oblige them, I usually found myself slipping back up to warp speed before I knew it. I just couldn’t seem […]

Yesterday I wrote of Kreutzer #1. Today I spent time whirling through #23, a close cousin. You might call this Caprice, ‘flights of fancy.’ The utility of it is in developing skills for cadenza playing. Held notes, with fermatas over them, are followed by extended flurries, sometimes called ‘melismas’. Many require quick shifts of the […]

Yesterday I received an email that got me to thinking. It seems one our subscribers has a little challenge with nerves. Well, maybe it’s not so little. His bow not only shakes, his right hand has a rather distressing way of creeping up the bow while he is playing – must admit, this is a […]

You may find this a little hard to believe, but just a few months ago yours truly found himself striding through the hallways of the Tampa ‘Marriott’ working up quite a head of steam, whilst playing through the Bach Chaconne. Now as odd as that may sound – in the Hallway of a Hotel? – […]

Most all of us have been told, at some time or another, that ‘you’ve just got to feel the music.’ Now, I don’t know about you, but on the occasions I’ve had this said to me I felt more confused than enlightened. You see, many teachers, who more likely than not possess a rather limited […]

Last night my wife and I watched the Ladies ‘Long Program’ from the World Championship of Figure Skating. As always, we saw some great stuff. And let me tell you, figure skating has a lot to teach violinists. Here’s why. One of the most important fundamentals of figure skating is having the ability to ‘hold […]

Ok, got the day right now, so I’m settin’ in the doc’s sky-lit waiting room for my annual check-up and oil change. Thought I’d use the time to talk about ‘taking it from the top.’ Yesterday I received a query – that’s British for question – about whether it’d be appropriate for him to get […]

A couple days ago I sat down to look at emails over my afternoon espresso – I allow myself two a day. Anywho, there was one from a new subscriber and client that made the contents of my demitasse seem down right freezing. In fact I almost burst a head-gasket I was so steamed. It […]

Here it is a beautiful Saturday morning. Sun’s out, sky’s blue, and I’m here writing to you. Must be something on my mind. I’ll get right to it. This morning I started my day with a practice session. Well, actually I made a quick foray to Starbucks first. But never mind that. I got into […]

A couple days ago my wife and I were sitting at the dining table talking about the ‘Indi IV’ scoring sessions. She asked if Harrison Ford had come to any of them. ‘In fact he did,’ I said. ‘And he caused quite a stir.’ We were just back from our first break – we take […]