• Beginners Circle

    A Professional’s Guide to the First Year of Violin Study

From Opening the Case for the First Time, Learning to Properly Hold Violin and Bow,
Drawing a Beautiful Sound, Reading Music, All the Way to Playing the Songs and Pieces
YOU Have Long Wanted to Play – And You Needn’t Leave the Comfort of Your Living Room!

Beginners Circle Monthly
8 Monthly Payments of just $19.00 ($152.00 total)

Immediate access to my 48 detailed instructional videos. PDFs of my extensive written notes (to place on your music stand during practice), and sheet music. Recorded accompaniments to all musical selections.

Gain lifetime access to all content after 8 months of membership Also understand that you may cancel your plan at any time for any reason

Sign Up

Beginners Circle Lifetime
One Time Payment $144.00 (just $3.00 per lesson)

Immediate access to my 48 detailed instructional videos PDFs of extensive written notes (to place on your music stand during practice), and sheet music Recorded accompaniments to all the musical selections

Also understand that your purchase comes with a 30-day no questions asked, money-back guarantee. I am that confident you are going to love this program!

Sign Up

Dear friend, If you’re reading this, it’s pretty certain you have an inborn affinity for the violin. I do too. For me it’s partly the heart and soul-penetrating tone, partly the thrill of playing the greatest music ever written, and partly the super-conscious state I’m in while playing. In short, of all the activities I’ve enjoyed in my life, none has held a candle to the depth of experience I’ve had from playing the violin.

What I’d like you to know is, there has never been a better time than RIGHT NOW to begin realizing your dream of being ‘a player.’

Before going any further, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Clayton Haslop. I have performed on the soundtracks of well over 1000 movies, often as concertmaster (if you saw Up, Ratatouille, Avatar, and Titanic you heard my solos in the musical scores). I have also served as concertmaster for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and Los Angeles Opera and toured widely with several chamber music ensembles.

Things began to change for me in my early 40’s, however. I developed a condition, thought to be genetic, which affects 12% of all people who rely on small muscle movements for a living. Focal Dystonia can blindside typists, musicians, surgeons, and many others. In my case, it resulted in the eventual loss of the ability to use the ring finger and pinky of my left hand. As you can imagine, this was a crushing blow. Yet, as with so many setbacks, it came with a silver lining. You see, after learning the story of early 20th-century jazz great Django Rheinhardt, who achieved international success playing the guitar with two fingers on his left hand, I resolved to do the same and use just two digits to do work of four. In the process, I experienced first-hand how adaptable our minds and bodies can be, even in one’s fifties as was my case! Not only do I again play the repertoire I love, but I have also returned to recording film scores as a professional violinist in Hollywood (new titles to my resume include Pixar’s “Lightyear” and Marvel’s “Spiderman III”). But let’s return to your purpose for being here!

Sample Lesson from Course – Month 8 Week 1

The “Beginner’s Circle” Story

In 2006 I began creating instructional DVD courses on violin playing. The early courses were geared toward intermediate and advanced players, and they quickly became quite popular with motivated self-learners worldwide looking to improve their playing skills. Yet it was not until my third course, however, that I went all the back ‘from the top’, as we say in musical circles, and set about designing a course for adults who had no prior experience playing, or hadn’t done so in so many years that they considered themselves “beginners.”

One morning I opened my website email and saw the following question: “I’ve heard that you can only get good on the violin if you start really young, and practice many hours a day. Is this true?”

No, ’tis NOT true. And I of all people should know! Misconceptions run deep, regarding the violin, and they’ve scared a good many folks away from an experience they’ve dreamed about for years! Well, it now needn’t happen to you.

What’s in the Course

The course provides all you need to open a violin case for the first time or, if it has simply been a while, to review all the basics, from A to Z.

It is a full year’s worth of weekly lessons: No need for you to order sheet music, it’s included, as are written notes you can print to remind yourself of my “pointers” as you practice.

  • Tuning

  • Rosining

  • Violin Care

  • Bow Hold

  • Violin Hold

  • Drawing Your First Tone

  • Music Theory

    (how to read music, musical terminology)

  • Finger Positioning

  • Bowing Techniques

  • Positions 1 - 3

  • Shifting from One Position to Another

  • Technique Building Exercises

  • Performance Pieces

The 3 Biggest Myths About Learning the Violin

Myth Number 1: The largest and most unfortunate myth is that you must begin to study at a very young age to ‘get any good at it.’ Well, let me tell you something. That is a lot of bull, and I ought to know.

In my four decades of playing and teaching the violin I’ve worked with many, many fine players who picked up the instrument for the first time as an adult. The difference between them and many others is, they didn’t listen (or never heard) a voice telling them it was too difficult for adults to learn.  They simply got to work.

Myth Number 2: Concerns the ability of the adult body to adapt to the basic playing position. Well just consider this, have you seen what ‘grown-ups’ are accomplishing in yoga studios around the world these days? In exactly the same way, the secret to mastering the violin playing position as an adult is one of relaxation. Maxwell Maltz, founder of Psycho-Cybernetics, said – “Once difficult, now easy.” And when you know the relaxation inducing power of proper breathing, the ‘once difficult’ will seem a distant memory.

Finally, Myth Number 3: The amount of time you must dedicate to practicing. Naturally the more you practice the more rapidly you can improve. Problem is, many students, young and old alike, don’t know how to practice correctly. As a result, they waste a great deal of time – time that COULD be spent improving their technique.

You can accomplish a great deal in as little as an hour a day of focused practice. And by focused I’m talking about practice which leaves you feeling more relaxed, energized, and excited to be alive than when you started. And, chances are, once you’re fully in the ‘playing habit’ you’ll be sad when your allotted practice time ends each day.

Now I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but there may just be a couple of benefits to playing that you DON’T know. And if you do, what’s the harm in refreshing your memory on all the great things music can do for you?

  • The sound of the violin is closest to the human voice and touches the soul more directly than any other instrument.
  • Playing the violin activates more areas of the brain simultaneously than just about any other activity – maybe MORE than any other activity.
  • Playing an instrument can be a complete and fulfilling experience without the participation of anyone other than yourself.
  • Playing the violin can also be a group activity, which can be as small as 2 persons or as large as a symphony orchestra.
  • Playing the violin makes you a participant in the greatest music ever composed – now that gets MY blood pumping!
  • Playing the violin induces the flow of ‘joy juice’, endorphins that lift mood and create feelings of well-being.
  • Playing the violin is a powerful form of meditation, and increases your ability to focus. In short, it is an INTELLIGENCE-BUILDING activity.
  • Playing the violin sends beauty into the world and can touch lives on a profound level – and no, you don’t have to be Jascha Heifetz for this to happen.
  • Playing the violin opens up a whole new way of exploring your body, heart, and mind. In other words, the potential for self-development is off the charts.
  • Playing the violin increases coordination and manual dexterity.

As I said before, my instructional courses were first issued in ‘hard copy’ – i.e. DVDs, CDs, sheet music, etc. Late in 2020, however, thanks to encouragement and help from my close friend, jazz violinist Doug Cameron, we began uploading the courses to the digital universe, and now they have become available anew simply as downloads. Additionally, since the internet is such a more efficient way to deliver informational content, we have greatly lowered my original prices, by 70% or more! Take a look at our two payment options which should eliminate all obstacles to getting you started now!

All the best, Clayton Haslop

P.S. Yehudi Menuhin once said, “To make great music you must keep your eyes on a distant star.” Well, in some sense this may be true. But to learn the violin well today you’ve only to keep one eye on a screen, and practice!

Beginners Circle Monthly
8 Monthly Payments of just $19.00 ($152.00 total)

Immediate access to my 48 detailed instructional videos. PDFs of my extensive written notes (to place on your music stand during practice), and sheet music. Recorded accompaniments to all musical selections.

Gain lifetime access to all content after 8 months of membership Also understand that you may cancel your plan at any time for any reason

Sign Up

Beginners Circle Lifetime
One Time Payment $144.00 (just $3.00 per lesson)

Immediate access to my 48 detailed instructional videos PDFs of extensive written notes (to place on your music stand during practice), and sheet music Recorded accompaniments to all the musical selections

Also understand that your purchase comes with a 30-day no questions asked, money-back guarantee. I am that confident you are going to love this program!

Sign Up

Testimonials

Lizbeth Getman - Williams Bay, Wisconsin

“This has been wonderful. I can’t wait to finish the dishes and get the violin out. The magic is back—. I will endorse this series to anyone. In our small towns, there are not too many violin teachers. We have to drive to Milwaukee or Chicago to study with a world class teacher. (If you have ever driven the Dan Ryan Expressway, you know that all good vibes and transcendence acquired from a teacher evaporates while dealing with rush hour (-: ) We are blessed with a resource and conduit in the person of Clayton. (I think I will skip the dishes and practice!)”

Nick Ittzes - Hillsboro, Missouri

“When the first Kreutzer package came I opened it right away, followed the simple instructions about breathing, counting, fingering, intonation, etc., and noticed an immediate and surprising ease of playing. I think working through your Kreutzer in tandem will allow me to do more than learn a difficult piece, but will increase my fundamental technique as well. That will come in handy, since I have been asked to teach some Masterclasses at a Czech conservatory this coming summer. Kreutzer is going with me.”

Rebecca Bunnell - 1st Violinist, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra

“As a professional violinist I can’t tell you how much your Kreutzer DVDs are elevating my overall technique. Revisiting these old friends with you has helped me learn orchestral music more rapidly and completely than every before. Thank you!”

LaDonna Taylor - San Antonio, Texas

“I read your ad in Strings magazine and will be forever grateful that I ordered the Kreutzer course.I was practicing, but knew that I needed help with my playing. I was deceived in thinking that because I travel so much and my schedule was so full that it was impossible to connect with a teacher for instruction to improve my technique. I now carry your instructional DVD’s and CD’s on my video iPod and watch and listen to them while I am waiting in airports, on flights or riding the train. I look forward to my practice time each day as I pick up my violin and apply what I have listened to earlier in the day. “I know I have so much work to and still need a lot of help, but I also know that I have made tremendous progress in the area of relaxation and my practice techniques. My playing has really begun to improve. I highly recommend your course to violinists.”

Brian Gompels - London

“This last weekend I was playing the second violin in the slow movement of Beethoven’s Op 127. Your counting technique in the Kreutzer course was very much in my mind whilst playing and I was grateful to you! It helped a lot.

“A few years ago I started lessons with a well-known London quartet leader and much of my lesson time is taken up on concentrating on bow technique and sound quality. Your DVDs compliment that teaching and makes me think afresh on the problems of playing the violin.”

Testimonials

Betty Widerski - Boston, Massachusetts

“As a violinist in rock/pop/folk bands I need be able to perform over 50 songs from memory during a typical 3-hour club show. While making it look effortless I must pay close attention to the other band members.

I’ve found your imaging technique useful in helping me to focus on what I need to be doing while performing in what can be a very chaotic environment.”

William Paquin - Kenosha, Wisconsin

“Although I have only been your Kreutzer Course for a short time (two months) I have enjoyed your instructions very much & know that I am receiving a great benefit from their use. The ability to view your playing of each etude, along with your explanation of their execution is providing me with both inspiration and some musical understanding regarding execution that was escaping me until now. As the forty-two etudes are extremely demanding, I am confident that they will provide me with a rich variety of musical challenges and experiences in the years to come. Once again, thanks for taking the time to provide aspiring violinists with such quality learning tools.”

Dr. A.R. Rassar

“I have already seen a part of your instructions on how to achieve a high degree of ability to play on violin. I must confess that what you are doing is really fantastic and must be appreciated by all musicians, particularly those concerned with violin. You are doing a great job and I have recommended your DVDs to all my students.”

Yiqun Ding - Wellington, CN

“We want to thank you again for your teaching. The way your teach not only shows you are a great teacher, but also a kind hearted person with a kindled spirit. The insights you put in the news letter and DVD course greatly inspire us and I can see my daughter playing with a bigger sound, counting better, and vibrating better… We will stay tuned to hear your new ideas.”

Geng-Chung Lai - Los Angeles, CA

“I’ve reviewed your teaching and performing DVDs which I ordered recently, and I’m very blessed to have you as my violin teacher at this stage of my life. I was a scholarship student of the late Mr. Berl Senofsky at Peabody. I’m now a violin teacher and a Christian pastor in LA. Because of my role as a minister I appreciate more of your way of teaching violin with the spiritual touch. Thank you and God bless you and your family!”