Yesterday I was sitting on a recording session for the soon-to-be-released “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” music by Michael Giacchino. My good friend Dr. Jim was next to me, and in one of the breaks he gave me some good advice.

We were discussing Violin Mastery’s coming-right-up “Orchestral Repertoire Class,” and he wanted to make sure that I wasn’t scaring the heck out of people by suggesting that only the most challenging of pieces would be on the music stands.

We had a good laugh over this, as we visualized a hapless section getting drilled on Strauss, Bartok, and Boulez for two solid, unrelenting days!

Of course, this is NOT at all how I envision it, so I’d like to tell you a little of what WILL happen in July.

I want you to have a great time – a great time improving and making music.

First we will find the energy, the “effect”, as Milstein would say.

Next we will get into the nitty-gritty details. Looking at the techniques and practice strategies.

Occasionally I might suggest ways of altering the music (yes, the actual music), to allow for greater playability and a better effect. All the great artists have done this.

We will spin out beautiful, singing lines.

We will create a section “sound” together.

We will project the drama, power, elegance and intimacy that is to be found in these great masterpieces, and we will do this TOGETHER.

Some of the music will be technically challenging, no doubt. Yet I am a firm believer in the power of flexibility and understanding in order to address any obstacles.

So, there is no need to fear.

There IS something you must do. And that is to secure your spot in this amazing Masterclass Intensive:

I hope to see you in beautiful, sunny Los Angeles!

All the Best, Clayton

It’s early morning here in Los Angeles. A layer of fog covers the San Fernando Valley, which lies just below my perch in the Santa Monica Mountains. Imagine it will burn off soon and turn into another day of hot weather.

In any case, I’ve been thinking about violin playing, as the sky brightens, particularly of those things that separate the well-trained player from the rest of the pack. One that came to mind immediately, perhaps because I think of it often in practice, is the way in which we get from position to position; shifting.

Shifts often bring with them a certain kind of anxiety, or insecurity, do they not? We all miss the mark at one time or another.

Now, if the root cause of a miss isn’t dealt with quickly and effectively, the insecurity will take hold, along with the potential bad habit(s) that led to the error.

Here is the chain of events. The eye sees, in the music, a large interval jump that requires a significant shift. In a flash you realize, “I really don’t know the position of that note or what it feels like to get there!” There is a fear response.

Adrenaline races into the bloodstream, the “fight or flight” decision must be made. There are two possibilities.

One can run away from the shift; either stop playing or skip over a note(s).

Or, one can go for it – project the hand toward your ‘best guess,’ and hope for the best.

Neither scenario sounds or feels appetizing to me now. Years ago I had some good instruction, you see. And I invested time and money, building an understanding of what “deliberate practice” is all about as it pertains to shifting. There are a number of critical elements that apply.

A sense of the “timing” of the shift (how much time is allowed for it) is imperative. Of course, the distance must be known quite intimately for us to set the timing. Knowing the distance is a matter of learning the fingerboard with as uniform a hand position as is possible.

In my two weekly instructional DVD courses, “Beginners Circle” and “Allegro Players,” these and other fundamentals aspects of good shifting are covered in great detail, beginning with simple shifts and moving forward. I can’t imagine a better investment of time and money for beginning and intermediate violinists wanting to improve.

Click here for more info on Beginners Circle.

Now go shift yourself into HIGH gear!

All the Best, Clayton Haslop

P.S. Learn more about Allegro Players for Intermediate Players and Above

As we all know is, it’s a virtual given that when we step in front of an audience to perform the whole game seems to change – even to the point of “all bets are off,” for some of us.

Must it be like this? Of course not! And here is one hot tip to help you.

You see, one of the drawbacks of having adrenaline coursing through our veins is that we tend to loose sensation and control at our extremities, and those little sausages at the ends of our hands are certainly out there.

The antidote is the rigorous practice of a form of sensitivity training – all the rage in American workplaces these days.

Of course, what I’m talking about is increasing the physical sensitivity of our digits. If we become acutely aware of how we move and place them, through practiced attention, a kind of headroom can be opened up such that the presence of adrenaline has less, or NO impact on what the audience hears.

Are you with me?

One of the move effective tactics I use to accomplish this has a secondary benefit. It requires the fingers to address the string with very little pressure whatsoever, increasing the efficiency of my left hand.

So here’s what I do:

I play in such a way, slowly, as I can feel the vibration of the string traveling up through my fingers on each note. The sensation is akin to having a little electrical energy flowing into the fingers when contacting the bowed string.

Breathe from you belly as you do this and the effect is even more potent as an adrenaline buster.

All the Best, Clayton Haslop

P.S. In a short while I will be giving a Skype Coaching to a gal living an ocean and a continent away. She will perform the etudes found in the first volume of my instructional DVD program, Kreutzer for Violin Mastery. These prime studies can be used to develop just the kind of touch sensitivity I’ve been discussing here.