I always get a kick out of watching my colleagues attach their various kinds of orthopedic devices on to the backs of their instruments. Silently I think to myself, ‘Poor blokes, still got their training wheels on.’

Fact is, most people use a shoulder rest for one of two reasons. Either they grip the violin between their chin and shoulder, and therefore need a device to keep that chronic muscle contraction from causing serious back and neck disorders, or they fear the violin will slip away from them without it.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are many terrific players that rely on them. I also think, however, that they are missing a kind of intimacy with the instrument that you cannot have otherwise.

Of course, with intimacy comes a certain amount of challenge.

Learning to play without a shoulder rest after a long dependency does require commitment. But it’s a commitment to relaxation, a commitment to balance and finesse.

And yes, there is the potential for some embarrassment onstage in the early going.

But think about it, how many times has your shoulder rest leap from your violin in the heat of battle? You see, there are no guarantees.

The instrument is not to be controlled, it is, rather, a thing of beauty to be worked with. It’s a partnership rather than a dictatorship, in my humble opinion.

But hey, this may not be your way. After all, maybe you still ride a bicycle with training wheels too – haven’t seen anybody win the Tour de France with them yet, but anything’s possible you know.

Just kidding, the important thing, whether you use a shoulder rest or not, is to breathe well, relax your shoulder, and support the violin in part with your left hand.

P.S. Of course, it’s important to have great tools in hand when hunting. That’s what you’ll find in ”Kreutzer for Violin Mastery”. Come get started with it today.

Just completed a little ‘tune-up’ practice session. Tonight I begin recording the instructional portion of my soon to be released course on Paganini Caprices.

Part of the process refreshes my thinking on fundamentals. I thought you might enjoy some of what passed through my mind.

You see, there are exactly 4 ‘theatres of movement’ you must be intimately connected with when playing. They are the fingers of the left hand, the left fore and upper arm, the right forearm, and the right upper arm.

Let’s look at them closely.

The fingers of the left hand are responsible for finding notes within a position. When the music you’re playing is diatonic – in one key, that is – and fairly slow, this is not such a difficult assignment. Things get complicated, however, when the music is fast, chromatic, and requires quick extensions, compressions, and movements across strings.

To accomplish these feats we develop independence of movement, flexibility, and a light touch.

The left arm gets us from one position to another.

Now, shifting requires a coordinated movement of both the forearm and the upper arm to move the hand in line with the fingerboard – generally not much of a problem going up the violin. Turns out, however, it is much more natural for us to accomplish this going toward the body rather than away from it. So downward shifts tend to be more problematic.

Now the right side.

The right forearm is largely responsible for the horizontal movement of the bow. How weight is transferred to the bow through the forearm, and how rapidly the forearm draws the bow across the string determines the kind of tone we produce.

The right upper arm is, again, LARGELY concerned with changing strings.

Now, just to shed a little more light, know that most of us will find it easier to go from an up-bow to a down-bow when crossing from a higher string to a lower one, and from a down-bow to an up-bow when crossing from a lower string to an upper string. By being aware of this you can sometimes arrange bowings to make things easier for yourself.

Now remember this, just as with the concept of yin and yang in Asian philosophy, you will find that even in cases of extreme yin there will be a tiny amount of yang to be found, and vice-versa.

In other words, your right upper arm will often move Sympathetically with the horizontal movement of the forearm, particularly when full bows are called for. This doesn’t mean it is in the driver’s seat, however.

And further, sometimes you will pivot from the elbow when crossing back and forth between two strings, leaving the upper arm quite still.

But these, as the saying goes, ‘are the exceptions that prove the rule.’

What is absolutely essential to clean, beautiful violin playing is complete mastery of these 4 theatres of movement. Come get started on the course that lays it all out for you in living color today.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT; I will be coming to Sacramento and Los Angeles the 3rd week in June. I will be scheduling 2 half-day ‘intensives’ in each city for 4 highly motivated doers. Contact me by phone or email for details.

I read recently where it takes some 10,000 hours to become the master of a skill. Of course it’s a given we’re not talking about bussing tables here; and I ought to know. You see back when Nixon was yet a president in good standing I learned and practiced that little ‘skill’ on a very high level.

No, we’re talking about such exceptionally rich and complex skills as playing the violin, performing brain surgery, and, say composing symphonies.

So let’s see now. If you practiced 5 hours a day, six days a week, 50 weeks a year, then we’re talking somewhere in the neighborhood of seven years to become Maxim Vengerov.

Sounds like a bargain to me.

What about you, is the violin worth that to you?

Even if it is, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to ‘take it on.’ After all, life is full of choices, and we may have several passions we want to indulge at one time. This is, after all, where art meets amateurism. And I mean amateurism in the best sense of the word.

One does not have to be Maxim Vengerov to derive great joy and pleasure from the instrument. But let’s take a look at what kind of time investment is typically required to reach some recognized levels of achievement.

In as little as an hour a day you can, in 3 years, equip yourself to the point of playing in community orchestras and enjoying a diversity of chamber music with like minded friends.

Push that up to 2 hours a day for 4 years and you’ll be qualified to teach beginning students, do paying ‘gigs’ and land a chair up in the front of the 1st violin section of your community orchestra. You’ll be playing early Beethoven string quartets quite credibly, I might add.

Let’s talk about becoming a professional.

Just add an hour a day to make it three. Do that for 5 years and you should be well qualified for any regional symphony orchestra. You will have the pick of the best paying gigs in your smaller city. You’ll even have the tools to develop one heck of a teaching studio.

But what about a major symphony orchestra, you ask.

Now we’re talking serious commitment. But add another hour and a couple of more years and you’ll have it. Yes, at 8,000 hours you’re there, would be the conventional wisdom.

By the way, competition for positions today is fierce. You really must be very close to the concert-artist level to win a major audition.

Now, would you be shocked if I told you 30%-40% could be cut from the figures I gave you by adopting a certain mindset and specialized practice tools?

Milstein told me that at the time he studied with Leopold Auer he only practiced 1 1/2 hours a day. He even brought this fact up with Auer, asking if he really should be practicing more.

Auer said to him, ‘Practice with your fingers and you need all day. Practice with your mind and you will do as much in 1 1/2 hours.’

OK, I think Milstein was exaggerating a tad about the 1 1/2 hours. Maybe his watch ran a little slow.

But in any case, I agree with the premise wholeheartedly, which is why I maintain a violinist with a fully conscious mind can do so much more in a given amount of time than the average Joe.

But you must not take anything you do for granted. You must be ALIVE and fully AWAKE when you practice. And you must take good advice seriously.

If you have one of my courses or have been to one of my masterclass/seminars you’ve benefited from some quality advice. After all, much of it comes from Milstein himself.

All you must provide is your full attention to the process. And there is nothing more nourishing and rewarding than doing that.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. Even if you missed getting your copy of ”Kreutzer for Violin Mastery” before yesterday you needn’t fear. This program is still a terrific bargain when you consider all the valuable hours of coaching that will be at your fingertips. Come turbo-charge your practice sessions today.

Had an interesting inquiry yesterday from a subscriber by the name of Gary. Have a look at what he had to say.

Clayton,

‘What do you recommend to calm down a shaky bow arm at the beginning of a concert. I played for some people last night and had some early ‘stage fright’ which caused my bow to shake/bounce, vibrato was a little nervous as well. By the third piece I had calmed down and things were fine, but any suggestions on how to start out? I tried using some controlled breathing to unfocus my mind from the bow, but it didn’t work very well. I also realized that instead of starting with ‘easy’ pieces with lots of piano/pianissimo, I would have benefited by starting with something allowing more bow pressure and broader arm movements and letting me get the tension out at the beginning. What do you think about that strategy for programming?’

Well, Gary, I’m sure 90% of us have experienced ‘shaky-bow syndrome’ at one time or another. There are a few, however, that claim to never experience the ‘fight or flight response’ that’s responsible for this. For me, it depends on the environment and repertoire I’m faced with.

But here are some thoughts.

Your recognition that playing some extroverted, accessible, but not too technically demanding music to begin with is very good. Milstein, and virtually all the great artists, have done this.

But in terms of actually dealing with nervous energy even before you get out on stage consider these three things.

The ‘fight or flight response’ causes a lack of physical control, a loss of mindfulness – or concentration – and a loss of feeling.

I spend my pre-concert time reversing these tendencies.

First, I arrive early to warm up. On the physical side, this means really moving the bow and fingers. I belly-breath while I play scales and arpeggios. I may walk around as I do it. I rest intermittently to stretch a little. I sip water. I play some more, gradually bringing my sound into focus, stretching my fingers, playing now with velocity and now slowly and expressively.

Secondly, I’m visualizing in my head everything I’m doing.

That is to say, I’m NOT playing on autopilot. I’m imaging the sound I want to draw and I’m listening for it. The point is I want to get my mind re-engaged, and focused.

Number three, I want to activate my feelings for the music. The ‘nerves’ will have suppressed them. So after I’m up and running physically and mentally I begin investing feeling in what I’m playing. I will play phrases and passages that get my emotional juices flowing.

Not too much, mind you. You don’t want to leave it all backstage.

As I’ve said in a previous email, I can spend as much as an hour and a half in this process before a particularly big event. Sometimes I will be up and running in 5 minutes. Usually I can gauge ahead of time how long I will need. Perhaps this takes some experience.

Now, there might be a time when you’re caught short. Maybe you’re even required to stand up and play ‘cold’. If this happens, and you find yourself being blanketed over by nervous energy, you say the following to yourself.

‘I recognize, and accept, that this situation is not ideal, but I will nevertheless do ALL I CAN to make this a success.’

Then you do it.

You breathe, your count, and you visualize. You do not allow yourself to focus on minor, or even what you may regard as major errors. You focus on telling a story of the music, on painting pictures, on communicating a gift of love.

Do these, and you will always be a success.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. One last thing, Gary. I think I would have used my breathing to focus my mind on the smooth, effortless bow strokes I wanted, rather than using the breathing to ‘unfocus’ on the the bow. In otherwords, focus on what you Want, and move toward it.

P.P.S. And if wonderful playing fundamentals are what YOU want focus on getting your copy of ”Kreutzer for Violin Mastery” today.

What never ceases to amaze me is the power of breath to simultaneously relax, refresh and energize.

Problem is, a tired, pre-occupied, stressed out mind often forgets to do the very thing that will bring almost miraculous transformation.

Recently I have been doing a new kind of breathing exercise. This one is not done with the violin under your chin; but I assure you, doing it can have a very positive effect on your playing nonetheless.

Periodically during the day – 3 times is good – I pause for one minute. During the minute I breathe 3 times. You see, it’ll take no time at all.

First, however, try it in front of a mirror sans shirt to get the form right.

Inhale deeply. Watch that you keep your shoulders relaxed and down. Your tummy will extend outward as the air is drawn in. Hold it for 5 seconds and then expel the air with a purposeful contraction of the diaphragm.

Now, as your tummy tucks back in contract the girdle muscles within the pelvis, the ones down near the groin area. As you contract these muscles draw them up toward your chest. No need to bend at the waist, just contract the muscles in one smooth powerful move.

When you have expelled ALL the air in your lungs, hold yourself in a contracted state for another few seconds. Now quickly draw in another breath and hold.

I’m finding this an excellent ‘dynamic tension’ exercise for the strengthening the lower abdomen.

But what does it have to do with playing, you may ask.

Well, do it before taking the fiddle out and you will find your mind much more focused as you begin to play.

More importantly, the muscles of the abdomen and girdle area are the foundation on which your upper body rests. The stronger this base is, the more confident and poised you are likely to feel whilst playing.

And that’s a very good thing.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. For the real skinny on how to use your breath to transform and inform your playing in a heartbeat, pick up your copy of ”Kreutzer for Violin Mastery” today.