Sir Thomas Beecham was an interesting case. He came from a family with oodles of munny – ever heard of Beecham gum? – and he found a most unique way to spend his inheritance.

He used it to create orchestras

Which he then conducted.

By the early 1960’s London had 5 major orchestras. Sir Thomas had founded 3 of them. While he was at it he became the most celebrated English conductor of the 20th century. And certainly it’s most colorful and charismatic.

‘So why,’ you’re wondering, ‘are you talking about bygone English music history?’

Well, because Sir Thomas said something very interesting. He said, ‘A great musician must combine the maximum of virility with the absolute of sensitivity.’

Now I think that statement can be taken many ways.

Virility certainly has to do with libido, which has to do with the drive to DO, which has to do with intense focus.

Sensitivity has to do with receptivity, which has to do with letting go, which has to do with relaxation.

The two are seemingly diametrically opposed, it would seem. How can we have BOTH at the same instant?

Because we MUST.

But not always in the same measure, mind you.

If you’re familiar with the symbol on the Korean flag you’ll remember it as the symbol of yin and yang. Within a circle are 2 paisleys of opposite color; one yin, one yang. And within each paisley is another small circle of its opposite’s color.

This symbol shows that even in a moment of maximum yin energy, there exists an element of its opposite, yang.

Now getting back to the violin. Today I was playing some highly virile music. Music that could easily tie me up in knots of tension, were I not ‘letting go,’ breathing, and otherwise maintaining myself in a relaxed state.

I’ve watched a lot of people ‘practice’ the violin, over the years. And I’ve seen many lose focus – i.e. virility – in slow music, and lose their composure in dramatic, or virtuosic music.

This is way I liken the ‘practice’ of the violin, whether in performance or in your living room, to a meditation. Both combine discipline and focus with relaxation and receptivity.

Becoming skilled at ‘violin meditation’ requires practice and know-how. Each of my ‘learning the violin courses’ provides the know-how needed by players of a specific level. This morning a strong intermediate player made an excellent choice by acquiring all 4 volumes of Kreutzer for Violin Mastery.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. If it seems I talk about meditation a lot relative to violin playing. It’s because it’s the way I experience it, each and every day.

Yesterday afternoon I spent the better half of the afternoon biking through the rural mountains of Western North Carolina. To say it was picturesque would be an understatement.

But there was something that occurred to me in the midst of all the beauty that I thought to share with you.

You see, at a certain point I noticed that the spiritual high induced by the vistas and floral display was growing dim. It was the less-than-pleasant feeling in my legs that was holding sway in my consciousness.

Now, you may be thinking, ‘why didn’t you just stop, and give your pins a rest?’

A good point, but the situation was this. I was riding with a friend who is training for an ultra-distance race. I didn’t want to interrupt what was for him a training ride, albeit a light one.

Well, anyhow, I realized that I had to not just exercise my legs, I needed to stretch forth my inner discipline.

When we had reached the first vista of the ride I’d seen it with what your could call a ‘beginner’s mind.’ A mind fresh, and non-judgmental. As I got into the ride that mind began making judgments as to what should or should not be of importance.

And it was siding with my legs and lungs.

Once I saw this, I thought, ‘Hey, this is MY life, and right now I’m going to focus the things I want to see.’

So I burst out laughing, and shouted to my friend – who was a few hundred yards up in front – ‘Hey, isn’t this a sweet ride?’

‘Sure is,’ he returned.

And on we went.

No, the pain in my legs didn’t disappear completely. But I did stop allowing my mind to bitch and moan about it, and I did reach out with my consciousness to visual feast flowing by me.

Now, the same rules apply in violin playing. It is easy to get pulled down when the music’s hard and your back feels like a hot iron’s being pressed against it. Believe me, I’ve been there.

But that’s when you really have to dig deep, set your focus to right, and reposes your ‘beginner’s mind.’

By the way, I did not coin the expression. First time I saw it was in book title by a great Zen master by the name of D. T. Suzuki. Do you know of him?

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. And still speaking of Beginner’s, this morning I had our assistant put together 2 more Beginners Circle courses with the first 6 month’s material. So if you’re ready to adopt a ‘beginner’s mind’ relative to the violin now’s the time to hop to.

Sky’s turned a steely grey outside, temp’s down in the 30’s, a few snow flakes blowin’ past my window.

I guess we’re putting spring on hold here in Western North Carolina.

So what better time to talk about reaching beyond the comfort zone.

This morning I set about pushing outside of mine in Caprice # 17 of Paganini. The middle section has a devilish collection of octaves combined with some tricky bowing requirements.

I wanted to play it faster than I have to date.

But to do that clearly meant taking a couple steps backward before I could move forward. I’d gone as far as I could go with the approach I was using.

A couple days ago I’d overhauled my approach to the bowing and felt pretty confident that it wasn’t the problem.

It was the left hand that was muddying up the waters.

On the surface it would seem that there were only a couple of ways of fingering the octaves. After all, when you’re playing fingered octaves you’re essentially limited to two fingers choices for each note; one and two on the lower notes, and three and four on the uppers.

As I began fooling around, however, I came up with a number of ‘slight of hands’ that either involved combinations of fingered and non-fingered octaves, or quick hops to neighboring strings.

I was truly surprised by the new possibilities.

Wasn’t long before the clear winners emerged, however. And after a little data entry into my grey cells – highly accelerated by counting and breathing – off I went, lickety-split.

The important thing is to keep your focus out in front of where you are, and to stay mentally active where it comes to finding solutions. If you find the trail getting stale or cold, give yourself a break, move to something else, and only return when your mind offers up a fresh image for your hands to chase.

Of course you always want to operate from a position of strength. For that you need strong fundamental skills and learning techniques. These are exactly when you’ll find in the volumes of Kreutzer for Violin Mastery.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. In Paganini for Violin Virtuosity, Vol. 1 you’ll benefit from much insight that came as a result of my 23 years of coaching with Nathan Milstein. We’re talking info that’s difficult to impossible to find anywhere else today.

Last week I was invited for an interview on a new online radio show It features guests who are walking through life ‘off the beaten path.’

I guess playing the violin these days qualifies one for such distinction.

Well I’m game for just about anything, so I agreed without hesitation.

The conversation covered quite a bit of ground; my early experiences with the violin, life in Hollywood, feelings about music, studies with Milstein, and more. After the fact, the show’s producer interspersed the interview with samples of my playing.

Last night I received a link to the program.

Now, my first instinct was to hit the delete key. In the past I’d usually felt awkward in interviews. I was afraid of finding myself sounding this way again.

But then I recalled the feelings I had during the interview. I wasn’t anxious or nervous. I felt calm, happy, and at times inspired.

After all, I thought to myself, I do LIKE what I’m doing in life.

So, I sat down and listened.

Yep, it was good. At least it was from my perspective. In fact I was so pleased at the way the message came across – the musical bits add so much – I’m going to give you the opportunity to tune in as well. You can do so right now, in fact, by going to http://www.webtalkradio.net/content/view/326/30/.

One last little secret I’ll let you in on. The host and producer is none other than Tania Gabrielle, my wife and life-long companion. And what a gifted interviewer she is!

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. Once you’ve heard the show you may just want to get a course of mine that you’ve had your eyes on for some time.

Last night, after a visit with a good friend, I walked out to my car, opened the door, sat down, swung my legs in, and turned on the ignition. I was greeted by the radio booming the most climatic moment of one of the most dramatic chamber music masterpieces ever written – the ‘B’ section of the final movement of the Brahms Piano Quintet in F Minor.

I’ll tell you, the emotional impact of the music hit me like a tidal wave. WHAM.

As I continued listening I realized it was also an exceptionally good recording; emotionally charged, well paced, well tuned, beautifully nuanced, just brilliant.

Of course, having played to piece on many occasions, I had the immediate, clear and present DESIRE to do so again.

I could Feel my hands on the notes, the shifts, and bow strokes as they came through the speakers. I wanted to shout, cry, laugh, all at the same time.

At the end, after cooling off for a few minutes, I realized that my desire was going to remain just that. Desire.

At least for now.

You see, I realized that I had a decision to make, to bring my will power to bear on the notion, and move forward with it decisively, or to let it go without regret.

I chose the latter.

You see, my will power is quite engaged acting on other desires. It’s busy creating and placing powerful images in my mind that pull me toward the satisfaction of these desires.

These are the ones that won’t be surrendered. That won’t fall into the dustbin of fantasy.

If mastering the violin is one of your great desires, and you’ve made the decision to act, then you want to support the power of your will with the best images you mind can entertain.

I think you’ll find many of them in the programs for self-study that I offer on my website. For a complete list you’ve only to click over to my home page at http://www.violinmastery.com/index.htm

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. Recently I was asked how to improve one’s vibrato. Kreutzer, Vol. 3 has a good deal to say about this important expressive device. And there’s an excellent exercise I provide for making it happen.