The Bane of Progress

I have a word for you. It signifies what is the greatest slayer of excellence known to Man. Its definition – ‘simultaneous conflicting feelings’. So, what is it?

If you’ve thought to yourself, ‘Ambivalence’, give yourself a pat on the back.

The elimination of ambivalence, both psychological and physical, is the biggest challenge to face the mature violinist. Yesterday I spoke of ‘resistance’. Well, the source of resistance is ambivalence.

Now, You obviously have interest and passion for the violin; you wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t. And you have made some, or maybe much, progress on the instrument.

But there are things inside holding you back.

Psychologically, they can take the form of doubts and second guesses – e.g. ‘I’m not capable of excelling at this’, or, ‘Other people aren’t really going to enjoy listening to this’.

Physically, they manifests in incoherent movement – e.g. extraneous motions, or background muscle tension.

I know I’m going out on a limb here, but I’ll even go so far as to say many nervous and repetitive stress disorders – yes, even focal dystonia – are byproducts of the long term, pernicious effects of ambivalence.

My own personal experience is bearing this out. Yet I’m amazed at what I’ve been able to learn from the process. I’m a better violinist and musician than I’ve ever been.

And I can tell you this much. Confronting the ‘bane of excellence’ requires a tremendous commitment to truth; both psychological AND physical.

You must have great patience and a burning desire to DO – I know I’ve said these things before. But the fact is, and you must be relentless in embracing this next statement, where there is a Will there IS a Way.

I hope you uttered a big ‘Yes’ to that. I also hope that you will be picking up you violin today with a renewed energy. The quest for pure finger, hand, and arm movements, and for pure, heartfelt musical commitment is the quest for the Holy Grail itself for a violinist.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. ”Kreutzer for Violin Mastery” is as good a map as you will find to guide you on this journey. It’s born of considerable experience. Trust in what it asks you to do and you will be greatly rewarded.