Ahead of this event, The Violin Channel got to ask violinist Grigory Kalinovsky: "What are your best tips for giving masterclasses with advanced students? What are the most important aspects to tackle when you only have 1 hour with a student during a masterclass?

"Real work - real teaching and real learning - happens in a studio, one-on-one between a teacher and a student over the course of weeks, months, and years. The unavoidable side-effect of that meaningful work is that after those weeks, months, and years, some things start feeling routine - the student’s perception of repeated technical (or even musical) observations from the teacher gets dulled and feels less crucial, and the teacher can also gradually get desensitized to certain persistent problems in the student’s playing and start subconsciously dismissing them as simply that student’s idiosyncrasies - I often find myself as guilty of that as anyone else.

"To me, masterclasses are about breaking into that routine and offering a fresh look at the student’s playing. Very often I’ll comment on something in a masterclass, and I can see in the student’s eyes that look of “Oh yes, I’ve heard that before and maybe it is actually important”. And sometimes I’ll observe a masterclass where my student is playing for someone else, and I myself start seeing their playing with a fresh eye, and when the masterclass teacher makes a comment, a light goes on in my brain - “how could I have missed that?” Easily - when you are busy pushing “the party line” to improve the student’s playing in a certain direction, you have to pick and choose what to focus on, and after a while it is very important to break out of that routine and broaden the ideas - that is where a masterclass experience can really help.

"When giving a masterclass, especially to advanced students, my goal is twofold - to create a positive and meaningful experience for the student and the audience, and to open the student’s and audience’s eyes to some new idea they haven’t considered before (or got tired of hearing from their teacher). To make the experience positive, it is important to find some aspect of the student’s playing that they can visibly improve on the spot - this can be something as simple as sound production on open strings or as sophisticated as introducing advanced bowing techniques for limitless color variety or demonstrating architectural structure in a Brahms sonata. To make the experience meaningful, it is also important to introduce (or reintroduce) some idea that will stay with them for a long time and that they can take into the practice room and incorporate into their playing hopefully forever. Often those two things can be one and the same, but sometimes you need to break them up - find something that you can help the student improve on immediately and also leave them with something to think about for the future. In either case, the goal is to leave them feeling invigorated and inspired to practice and improve further."

-Grigory

A devoted educator, Kalinovsky joined the Jacobs School of Music faculty in the fall of 2013 and continues to teach at the Heifetz International Music Institute and IU Summer String Academy. Previously a faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music, he has taught at many summer music festivals, including Pinchas Zukerman’s Young Artists Program in Canada, Keshet Eilon Mastercourse in Israel, Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine, Soesterberg International Music Festival in Holland, Summit Music Festival in New York, “Il Violino Magico” in Italy, and Manhattan in the Mountains, where he was also one of the founding artistic directors.

He has presented master classes at many major U.S. festivals and music schools, including New England Conservatory, the Colburn School, Meadowmount, University of Maryland, San Francisco Conservatory, and Seattle Conservatory, and at numerous European and Asian institutions, such as the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Buchmann-Mehta Scool of Music and Jerusalem Music Center in Israel, Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Germany, Beijing Central Conservatory in China, Seoul National University and Korea National University of Arts in Seoul.

Prof. Kalinovsky’s students have won top prizes at national and international competitions, including the Spohr International Violin Competition, Tibor Varga Junior Competition, Menuhin Young Artists Competition in England, Andrea Postacchini Young Violinists Competition in Italy, and Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition in Chicago, among others.

Kalinovsky started his music education with Tatiana Liberova in his native St. Petersburg, Russia. After coming to New York, he continued his studies with Pinchas Zukerman and Patinka Kopec at the Manhattan School of Music, where he served as a faculty member shortly after graduating and until his move to Indiana University.

The post Violinist Grigory Kalinovsky's Best Tips for Leading Masterclasses appeared first on World's Leading Classical Music Platform.

To help celebrate the launch of our new site, and the re-launch of Maxim Vengerov's new website, maximvengerov.com, over the past weeks the superstar violinist, teacher, and conductor, has been guest presenting a series of exclusive teaching advice classes for our readers, teachers, and students everywhere.

Accompanied by helpful teaching videos that demonstrate key concepts, Maxim covers a wide range of topics including sound, left and right-hand technique, bowing, breathing, harmony and structure, and interpretation.

In today’s eighth and last lesson, Maxim discusses harmonic thinking to discover your own interpretation.

Discover the whole series, and be sure to share the classes with your own students and friends, and let us know how Maxim’s advice has helped you on your journey to learn more.

Introduction

Like architecture, music has structure and form. When you see a cathedral, for example, you approach from a distance and this overall structure is your first impression - the size, shape, key features like a spire, and so on. You only see the details as you come closer - the entrance, ornamental elements, etc. - and begin to appreciate how these fit together to form the structure of the whole. 

However, in music, this big-picture view is not the listener’s first impression, it is the final impression. Why? Because it is revealed over time. There is a narrative: we cannot know at the beginning how the story finishes, or appreciate how masterfully a plot twist is woven in, until the end has finally been revealed to us. 

It is part of our job as the performer to understand the narrative of a musical work, and to convey this convincingly to the audience. A compelling interpretation will reflect not only an intellectual understanding of how a work is constructed, but also artistic decisions about how to bring this across in the moment of performance. (This is like how an actor reading a story might use different voices to help the listener understand the different characters, or modulate the tone of their voice when something important is happening.) 

Of course, interpretation is multifaceted and is also informed by many additional diverse factors. In this post I will focus on how thinking about structure and harmony in music can help shape interpretation, and share with you some recommendations for how to uncover these aspects of a work for yourself and communicate them clearly to the listener.

Musical building blocks and how they connect

“Constructing in your mind the bigger picture of a musical work requires understanding its different components and their relative priority.”

In a building, the most important components are the foundation and load-bearing structural elements, because without these, it would collapse. In music, the harmony, rhythm, and structure (i.e. musical form) serve the same purpose - these are the vertical elements. In baroque music, for instance, the bass line is the foundation upon which chords are built. Each chord, each individual harmony, is like a different pillar supporting the overall building, but still with its own weight and identity. 

However, these vertical harmonic pillars do not exist in isolation; they are connected to each other as part of a bigger musical structure. The musical phrase bridges between them, like a cat weaving its way from one pillar to the next, or an electrical cable arcing across transmission towers - this is the horizontal element. Harmonies are also related to one another within the broader context of the tonality of the work. The home key, for example, has a different sense and importance compared to a more foreign harmony.

Thinking in this way, you can start to connect the harmonic pillars together in your mind into bigger building blocks of harmonic progressions and phrases. Then, these in turn also connect together within the context of the musical form of a work (e.g. sonata form). The main theme, for example, has a different importance to an introduction, motif or bridging passage between themes. Then, the different movements of a larger work also complement one another to form the whole. 

So, there are many different levels on which to analyse a work, from a single chord to the overall structure, and within each level there are different priorities.

Forming your conception of a work 

“Working with the full score and also away from your instrument will help you put your part in perspective.”

To discover for yourself the structure and building blocks of a musical composition, I recommend to first study the score, without your instrument. 

Work with the full score, not only your part. As the violin is primarily a melodic instrument, we usually play with other musical partners. If you work with only the violin part and form your musical ideas based on this, you will miss most of the magic hidden in the harmonies and the interplay of the parts. It would be like learning lines for Hamlet without knowing what the other characters are saying. Furthermore, you may find many of your ideas might not make sense when it comes to the first rehearsal together with your musical partners - making a lot of your practice simply not valid!

Working with the score, analyze the harmonies and form of the composition, and identify the different building blocks of the work and how the composer has fitted them together. Ask yourself: Which elements are important, and which are secondary? Where are the irregularities? For example: an unexpected dissonance, a rhythmic irregularity (e.g. syncopation or a hemiola), or a structural anomaly (e.g. a 9-bar phrase when an 8-bar phrase would have been expected). As performers, we are like treasure hunters, always looking for the magic in the music and seeking the most effective way to share this with our audience. 

Once you have sketched the main outline of the work in your mind, you can start to work on bringing this to life. Exploring at the piano, playing the different parts separately and together, can help train your ear to how your part fits in.

I also recommend trying to sing the other parts whilst playing your part on the violin. This is a very challenging exercise (and you may prefer to do it when nobody is listening!). Practising in this way is particularly useful for sections where other parts have the main theme and you are accompanying. Singing the theme whilst playing your accompaniment forces you to hold both in your mind at the same time, and to listen well while you play. The accompaniment should not be passive; it should closely complement and support the theme, and sometimes even lead the way. 

Playing chamber music will help you hone these skills even further, and will refine the way you play and interpret solo repertoire. Students sometimes forget about chamber music in the quest to become a soloist, but it is a very important part of developing your sensitivities as a good musician.

Communicating your conception of a work to the audience

“Plan well during your preparation, but remember that performance is the true moment of creation.”

To fully absorb the complexities of a work and make it our own, we need to understand it on many different levels, from the small details to the overall bird’s-eye view. The key structural elements of a work are fixed, like landmarks on a map, and you should analyse and know them well. But this deeper understanding of the work is only the starting point for spontaneous creation in the moment of performance. 

It can be easy to get lost in the details, focusing too much on individual moments and losing sight of how these fit together. This can translate to a performance which is hard for a listener to follow. The simplicity of a clear vision and overarching narrative can sometimes be more compelling than a series of seemingly random or rhapsodic ideas one after the other, no matter how interesting or beautiful each may be. Decide on your priorities during the process of working with the score, and try not to get too lost in the moment when you play.  

When you play alone (e.g. works for violin solo), the interpretation belongs to you, and you are your own boss. But when you play with others, the interpretation does not belong to you any more, it belongs to everyone. You and your partners interact and integrate your individual parts together into a shared interpretation, according to the composer’s wishes. 

This means you must always keep one ear listening carefully to the other parts as you play, and react to what you hear. Listen from the bass, the foundation, and try to feel the whole harmony, and where your part fits in. (This is where practising well will serve as very good preparation, because you will already have trained yourself to listen well while you play.) 

Savour the irregularities, and use the many resources at your disposal to highlight these moments for the audience - for example, changing the vibrato, speed of the bow, and so on. Even if it is the hundredth time you play a piece, try not to take anything for granted. Think from the perspective of a listener who has never heard the work before, like it is the world premiere. 

However, despite careful and meticulous planning, always leave room for new possibilities during the performance itself. Our interpretation should not be rigid, or fixed - we must leave room for spontaneity, and react to our partners and the environment in which we play. Sometimes we plan one thing, but are inspired to make a different decision in the moment, or we discover something new. Performance is the moment of creation. Planning is not creation, it is just a sketch.

To conclude

As performers, it is our task to bring the audience on a journey with us, and share with them the message and story behind the music. Musical works, especially larger-scale ones, generally have an underlying structure binding the different elements together into a single cohesive unit. This added level of abstraction adds complexity and new dimensions to the musical message, and is the scaffolding necessary to support the beauty and grandeur of a bigger vision. It is this connection of vertical and horizontal which forms the fabric of the musical landscape.

I hope these recommendations give some useful practical advice on how to think about and prioritize the structural and harmonic building blocks of a musical score. In this way, you start to think like a composer must think. By making informed choices about the relative significance of the different elements as you feel it, you form your own interpretation of the composer’s intentions. Your conviction and understanding of a work is what will come across to your audience, and what will ultimately deepen their experience and appreciation of the music.

Watch the full teaching video below, where Maxim explains in further detail and demonstrates the concepts he introduces in this article:

This series was curated and co-written by Anna Gould.

The post VENGEROV'S VIEWS | Maxim Vengerov on Harmonic Thinking to Discover Your Own Interpretation appeared first on World's Leading Classical Music Platform.

To help celebrate the launch of our new site, and the re-launch of Maxim Vengerov's new website, maximvengerov.com, over the coming weeks the superstar violinist, teacher, and conductor, will be guest presenting a series of exclusive teaching advice classes for our readers, teachers, and students everywhere.

Accompanied by helpful teaching videos that demonstrate key concepts, Maxim will cover a wide range of topics including sound, left and right-hand technique, bowing, breathing, harmony and structure, and interpretation.

In today’s seventh lesson, Maxim discusses breathing in order to make music and stay relaxed.

Join us over the coming weeks, and be sure to share the classes with your own students and friends, and let us know how Maxim’s advice has helped you on your journey to learn more.

Introduction

Playing violin is like aerating a glass of wine — everything must breathe. As wine is exposed to oxygen, aromas and flavors are released, adding to the depth and complexity of flavor. On the violin, allowing the instrument to breathe means letting it vibrate naturally, so the overtones add depth, volume and complexity to your sound.

Breathing well when playing also adds meaning to the musical message, and helps the body stay relaxed. It is something which is easy to forget about, in amongst the myriad of technical and musical challenges we deal with when we play, but is very important for any player to understand. In this post, I will share with you some recommendations for how to help the music, your instrument and your body breathe naturally.

Breathing during pauses

“During pauses, you should also make music.”

Pauses in music are to breathe, not to stop. Just as when we speak, or sing, we take a breath when we need to. Taking a breath adds to the sense of what we are saying (or singing) - it gives the listener the chance to absorb what was just said, and the speaker (or singer) the chance to prepare for what comes next. So, even though there is no sound during a breath, there is still something happening during this break which adds meaning to the overall message.

It is just the same when we play. When the composer writes a pause or rest, or even just a subtle indication via phrasing, this does not mean you should stop, and then restart - it is a sign for you to take a breath. (Of course, there may be exceptions to this, for example a general pause for dramatic effect; by analysing the structure of the music you will be able to judge whether or not this is the case.)

Understanding the role of a pause or rest is essential to be able to create longer phrases and build more complex musical ideas. If you do not breathe during a pause, the music will stop. This could result in breaking a longer musical line into disjointed single elements which are hard for the listener to connect - not a satisfying musical experience. It would be like inviting a friend to join you on a nice long walk in the park, but instead you compel them to sit down on every single bench along the way - not a very satisfying walk!

By breathing during pauses, you will be able to build more interesting and complex ideas, and it will be easier for the listener to follow the message you are trying to convey.

What does breathing mean in practical terms, as a violinist?

“When we play violin, we breathe with our right hand.”

As an instrumentalist, we work with the instrument we play, not only our body. So it is not as straightforward as literally taking a breath, like a singer would. We need to understand how to translate this into the body language of our instrument. As violinists, we draw sound from the violin with the bow, and so the right hand is like our lungs.

There is a golden rule to keep in mind: if the music should continue, even during a pause, then the movement of your right hand and arm should continue too. If your bow hangs still in the air, or on the string, then the music will stop - this would be like a paraglider trying to stay aloft with no wind.

Let go of any tension in your right hand, continue the movement of the bow in the air even if it leaves the string, and keep your right hand and arm moving naturally. You can imagine your elbow breathes, and that your arm is like the wing of a bird taking flight.

As well as your right hand, you should also let the instrument breathe to get a vibrant sound. This means not pushing inside the string too much with pressure of the bow, using bow speed instead to create more sound. Pressing into the string can choke the sound and kill the overtones. Let the string vibrate naturally, and the sound and the instrument will ring freely.

Breathing to stay relaxed and keep a good sound

“Before you start to play, breathe in, breathe out - and only then, begin.”

For a good sound, and to keep your body relaxed, it is also important to know how to breathe properly (with your actual lungs!). Sometimes students can forget to breathe when they play, because they are nervous, or simply because they are too busy thinking about everything going on - the next note, a hard passage coming up, a mistake that just happened, and so on. The solution to this problem is partly experience - becoming accustomed to performing, knowing how you react in different situations and how to overcome this, and being comfortable in a concert environment.

This aside, you can give yourself a good start before you begin to play. First, take a breath in, and then exhale - shoulders down, body relaxed. And only then, begin to play. Often students breathe in, and then start to play, without exhaling first. But if you do this, your diaphragm is up, your shoulders are up, and you are already tense before you even start.

Try this experiment! You can observe the same phenomenon when speaking. Breathe in, and now try to speak. What happens? Now exhale and try speaking. Did you notice the difference? After inhaling, your diaphragm is locked holding the air in, and it is like riding a bicycle from a standing start. After exhaling, the air is already flowing over your vocal cords and you simply start to vocalise it - like the wheels of the bicycle are already in motion rolling down a hill.

Exhaling before you start to play will ensure your body is relaxed, and give you a fuller and freer sound.

To conclude

Breathing is something which seems obvious, or is overlooked. However, it is a topic of fundamental importance for any musician, especially for string players, due to the vocal nature of our instruments.

I hope these recommendations give some useful advice on why breathing is important, and provide some practical tips for how to translate this to the violin and the music you play. Most importantly, I hope these will help you keep your body relaxed, adding complexity and depth to your sound and your musical message.

Watch the full teaching video below, where Maxim explains in further detail and demonstrates the concepts he introduces in this article:

This series was curated and co-written by Anna Gould.

The post VENGEROV'S VIEWS | Maxim Vengerov on Breathing to Make Music and Staying Relaxed appeared first on World's Leading Classical Music Platform.

Accompanied by helpful teaching videos that demonstrate key concepts, Maxim will cover a wide range of topics including sound, left and right-hand technique, bowing, breathing, harmony and structure, and interpretation.

In today’s sixth lesson, Maxim discusses the connection between the bow and the right hand.

Join us over the coming weeks, and be sure to share the classes with your own students and friends, and let us know how Maxim’s advice has helped you on your journey to learn more.

Introduction

The bow is an extension of the right hand, with which we breathe life into the violin. The connection of the bow with your hand should be as natural as possible - the bow should feel a part of your body, not like a separate object. 

To achieve this feeling, we must master two seemingly opposing goals: remaining as relaxed and flexible as possible, whilst simultaneously maintaining very precise control. The key to this balancing act is in how you use your hand and fingers, with support from the joints and muscles in the right arm. Everything must work together in harmony. Just like an athlete, behind the illusion of easy and natural movement lie many years of hard work to train your body. 

At all stages of your development as a player, there are some core principles to keep in mind which can help you. In this post I will share some recommendations for how to achieve flexibility and natural movement in your bow arm. 

Flexibility in the right hand

“Freedom of movement in the right hand and fingers is essential for fine control of the bow.”

The finest motor control comes from the smallest joints in the fingers, and so these must remain free to move. This means that your right hand and fingers need to stay flexible and relaxed. Without this, you will not have full control over the bow or the sound you make. 

Flexibility of the fingers is particularly important for a smooth bow change, especially at the frog, where the bow is heaviest. At the frog, the weight of the bow is counterbalanced by the pinky finger. Without the work of the pinky finger, either you will risk a nasty crunch in the sound, or you will have to compensate with the larger muscles in your hand and arm to maintain control of the bow. At the tip and in the upper half, the bow is much lighter, and the balance is transferred to the index finger to keep the sound and the connection with the string. 

Gaining control over and using the small muscles in your fingers will help you be as efficient as possible in your movements. Efficiency is the guiding principle of good technique. 

How can the bow-hold aid flexibility and control?

“To keep your right hand as flexible as possible, use a bow-hold which does not limit the ability of your fingers to move.” 

There is no single “correct” bow hold. Firstly, there are different conventions when it comes to bow-hold, in particular the Franco-Belgian and Russian schools, and wonderful violinists who have used various approaches. Secondly, it is ultimately a question of your own individual physique, and finding the best approach for you by learning to listen to what both your body and your ears tell you. What feels natural for you, may not feel natural for somebody else, and that is because we are all different! 

Nevertheless, there are some ideas to keep in mind. The underlying and foundational principle is to use a bow-hold which gives you as much flexibility and control as possible. 

To help with this, I recommend avoiding big gaps between your fingers in your bow-hold, because this introduces tension and reduces the range of motion of the small joints in the fingers and the hand overall. Similarly, the thumb should generally be curved, not straight. Try shaking your hand with everything relaxed, and then with your fingers extended or straightened, and you will feel how much harder it becomes to move. 

Without freedom of movement in the small joints of the fingers, in order to maintain control you instead have to compensate by using your whole hand or arm, instead of only the fingers. This is possible, of course, but it would be like walking by moving your whole legs without bending your knees or ankles - so much more work than it needs to be, and such an inefficient way to use your body! 

A bow-hold which allows you the maximum flexibility and natural freedom of movement will also help you avoid tension, and get more sound from your instrument. 

What about the rest of the arm, besides the hand and fingers?

“Your right arm should move naturally and freely, following from your hand.” 

Try to avoid any awkward angles in your elbow and wrist - these should not be too high or low, and there should be a smooth line from your shoulder to your hand. Practising in front of a mirror will help you observe yourself - often what looks natural, feels natural too. 

Besides your hand and arm, do not forget about the rest of your body - this is also an important part of the equation. Your shoulder, your neck and the rest of your body should all remain free to move, with everything connected and in harmony. You should feel in touch with your body, and feel good about it. To help with this, I try to keep physically fit. 

To conclude

Through the bow, our body connects with our instrument. But the bow should not feel like an object in the way - you should be able to feel the connection right from the point of contact with the string, all the way through your fingers, hand and arm. The different joints and muscles are all interdependent, and they must work together. Understanding the different roles each play will help you to be more efficient in your movements, expending minimal effort whilst maintaining maximum results. 

I hope these recommendations will help to truly make the bow feel like a natural extension of your body, and give you the precise control you need to bring out the nuances in the music. Your body is your instrument, and how you use it is ultimately the source of your own sound, unique to you.

Watch the full teaching video below, where Maxim explains in further detail and demonstrates the concepts he introduces in this article:

This series was curated and co-written by Anna Gould.

The post VENGEROV'S VIEWS | The Bow as an Extension of the Right Hand appeared first on World's Leading Classical Music Platform.

Accompanied by helpful teaching videos that demonstrate key concepts, Maxim will cover a wide range of topics including sound, left and right-hand technique, bowing, breathing, harmony and structure, and interpretation.

In today’s fifth lesson, Maxim discusses different bowing essentials.

Join us over the coming weeks, and be sure to share the classes with your own students and friends, and let us know how Maxim’s advice has helped you on your journey to learn more.

INTRODUCTION

If we compare string playing to singing, then our bow is like a singer’s lungs. However, the bow is a manmade object, with certain characteristics we need to work around. By understanding these, we can avoid being restricted by them, and even use them to our advantage. To help build a musical phrase, careful consideration of how to use the bow, and why, is essential - just as a singer decides how to control their breath and where to breathe.

Capturing all the subtleties of this art would need an entire book, and it requires many years of study to fully master. However, there are some fundamental principles to keep in mind. In this post, I will share with you a few ideas on how to approach using the characteristics of the bow to help you play a musical phrase as naturally as a vocalist can sing it.

How can the musical phrase influence the choice of bowing?

“The choice of bowing is mainly a question of musical priorities, and how you can use the bow to serve these.”

The bow is heavier at the frog and lighter at the tip. This means it is most natural to make a decrescendo on a down-bow, and a crescendo on an up-bow. Unless you compensate for the uneven weight distribution across the bow, by using bow speed or pressure, this crescendo/decrescendo is what will happen.

However, the most important guide is the musical phrase, not what the bow wants to do. So it is a compromise between what you would like to express in the music, and how you can use the bow characteristics to help you achieve this. This is why the choice of bowings is very important.

As an example: starting down-bow at the frog, the weight of the bow will provoke you to suggest an emphasis (e.g. an accent, downbeat, or a new beginning). You can use this to your advantage by choosing bowings so you arrive on a down-bow at the climax of a phrase, or when there is an accent. The weight will help you create the emphasis with minimal additional effort.

Conversely, this weight can work against you, for example, if you start a crescendo on a down-bow - this will provoke you to make a decrescendo as you go towards the lighter tip of the bow, or you must work twice as hard to compensate and make the crescendo.

By carefully considering the musical priorities, and choosing bowings to help you achieve these, you can work with the characteristics of the bow instead of against them, and save yourself a lot of additional effort.

How can bow distribution also help?

“Bow distribution is key to successful phrasing.”

Besides choosing where to play up- or down-bow, bow distribution is also very important: how much bow you use and which part of the bow. Thinking about this carefully and making wise choices can help you bring out many subtleties in the music.

Following on from the same example above: if you would like to avoid the emphasis which can happen starting down-bow at the frog, but it is not possible to choose bowings to play up-bow instead, you could instead start in the middle of the bow, and use less bow.

As another example: you can also use bow distribution to help you build a crescendo. Rather than giving everything away at the beginning by using too much bow, you can instead gradually increase the amount and speed of the bow, to build the intensity.

To help keep the music as your most important guide, I recommend putting the violin aside when you first learn a piece and studying the score - decide how you feel about it, where the phrasing leads, where the climaxes are, and so on. Then, based on this, you can choose bowings that will help you achieve these musical ideas. This approach will ensure you think beyond any limitations of the bow, and develop your technique.

What about bow changes?

“Smooth bow changes are essential to build a longer phrase.”

When you change bow from up to down or vice versa, there is a risk of losing the sound during the change. If we think about how we speak, we do not speak word by word - Otherwise It Would Sound A Bit Like This With An Accent On Every Word, and it would be hard to follow. The equivalent when we play is the break in the sound or small accent which can happen during a bow change. This presents the same danger of playing note by note, losing the connection between them, which makes it hard to build a musical phrase or convey the sense behind it.

Generally speaking, you should connect the bow as legato as possible, so you do not hear the change from one note to the next. The key to this is to maintain the same speed of the bow. Avoid “flicking” or an accelerated bow speed just before a bow change - everything must stay under your control. Use the fingers in your right hand, especially the pinky finger for bow changes at the frog. I will address this topic in further detail in Part 6 of this series.

To conclude

When you play violin, or any instrument, always try to connect all notes, from one to the next - think ahead, and think in the direction of the phrase. The music lies in between the notes, and the connection between them. It is this continuous connection thatx sustains a longer phrase or musical idea.

I hope these recommendations for how to approach using the characteristics of the bow to your advantage will help you create phrasing as naturally and expressively as a singer can. Understanding and controlling these nuances will add to your playing many more musical possibilities. Always think about where in the bow you play, and why.

Watch the full teaching video below, where Maxim explains in further detail and demonstrates the concepts he introduces in this article:

This series was curated and co-written by Anna Gould.

The post VENGEROV'S VIEWS | Violinist Maxim Vengerov on Bowing Basics appeared first on World's Leading Classical Music Platform.

Accompanied by helpful teaching videos that demonstrate key concepts, Maxim will cover a wide range of topics including sound, left and right-hand technique, bowing, breathing, harmony and structure, and interpretation.

In today’s fourth lesson, Maxim discusses how to shift in the most efficient way.

Join us over the coming weeks, and be sure to share the classes with your own students and friends, and let us know how Maxim’s advice has helped you on your journey to learn more.

INTRODUCTION

Shifting positions in the left hand is a logistical obstacle string players must learn to deal with to navigate smoothly around the fingerboard. Beyond the technical aspect, a shift can also be an important expressive tool, especially in more romantic repertoire where portamento is part of the stylistic vocabulary. The way you shift should reflect your understanding of the deeper musical sense - the style, and the context of the interval within the harmony and phrase. 

In order to make a successful shift, you need a few ingredients. In this post, I will share with you some key principles to keep in mind, to help you shift smoothly and with confidence.

Before a shift

"The secret of a good shift is a loose left hand, and not to rush."

Keep your left hand and finger very relaxed during the note before a shift. This helps you really control the shift - if your left hand is tense, then you cannot move freely. 

You must always have a reference when you shift, to keep your bearings and not lose your orientation on the fingerboard. To help with this, your thumb should move before the rest of your hand, rather than moving your whole hand in one jump. The thumb then acts like a scout, moving ahead to find the right position, and then inviting the rest of the hand to join.

Hold the first note long enough to imagine the next note before you start the shift. This is like a singer first engaging and controlling their diaphragm before singing an interval. Having your destination clear in your mind before you start your journey will help ensure you arrive at the right place (i.e. with good intonation!)

During a shift

"During a shift, do not press your finger into the string: this is a golden rule."

Your left hand and finger should always stay relaxed. During a shift you should not press too much into the string. Your finger should only press halfway, not fully touching the fingerboard, but never losing the connection. This reduces the friction, so you can move more easily to get to your destination.

Generally speaking, you should shift on the outgoing finger, and then place the next finger cleanly once you reach the new position. The movement should not be too fast - avoid jumping, to keep a good connection and stay in control. Start the shift very slowly, and then move like a magnet to the other note.

Shifting with your finger slightly flattened will help you stay relaxed. If you shift with your finger in a more vertical position, perpendicular to the fingerboard, it is much harder to move smoothly, and to keep a good connection and sound.

The speed of the shift depends on whether or not you would like it to be heard, and this depends on the style of the music and what you would like to express. If you do not want the shift to be audible, consider the right hand as well as the left hand - i.e. do not use too much bow during the shift. Specifically, you can slow down the speed of the bow after you leave the first note, and then increase it again after you reach the second note. 

On the other hand, if you would like to emphasize a shift, you can do the opposite - as well as slowing down the movement of the left hand, you can increase the speed or pressure of the bow. It all depends on what you would like to express in the music.

After a shift

"First left hand, then right hand - for a clean shift, you need a good connection with the fingerboard before you start to play the note."

Finally, when you get to the top (or bottom) of the shift: first press your finger down fully from halfway, to make no gap between the string and the fingerboard. Then comes the speed of the bow, to voice the second note of the shift. First the left hand, then the right hand, and not the other way around - they are like a married couple, and they must cooperate with one another! 

Without this good connection between your finger and the fingerboard, the sound will not be clear. You will hear what sounds like “sand” or graininess in the sound, like in an old recording. Listen carefully and always use your ears to guide you.

To conclude

Shifting smoothly and accurately is an important part of developing good technique. I hope these recommendations will give you some ideas about the key things to think about, so shifting is no longer a technical obstacle, but an additional resource in your violinistic toolbox to help you add expression to the music.

Watch the full teaching video below, where Maxim explains in further detail and demonstrates the concepts he introduces in this article:

This series was curated and co-written by Anna Gould.

The post VENGEROV'S VIEWS | Shifts & Connection with the Fingerboard appeared first on World's Leading Classical Music Platform.

To help celebrate the launch of our new site, and the re-launch of Maxim Vengerov's new website, maximvengerov.com, over the coming weeks the superstar violinist, teacher, and conductor, will be guest presenting a series of exclusive teaching advice classes for our readers, teachers, and students everywhere.

Accompanied by helpful teaching videos that demonstrate key concepts, Maxim will cover a wide range of topics including sound, left and right-hand technique, bowing, breathing, harmony and structure, and interpretation.

In today’s third lesson, Maxim discusses how to best use vibrato to enhance colors and expression in your playing.

Join us over the coming weeks, and be sure to share the classes with your own students and friends, and let us know how Maxim’s advice has helped you on your journey to learn more.

INTRODUCTION

Vibrato is one of the most important expressive tools available to string players. With our instrument, we imitate the human voice and what the voice can do, especially the natural vibrato of a singer. On the violin, we have the ability to control our vibrato very precisely, and to enrich the color palette we can draw from we must develop the technique of both left and right hand. 

It is very difficult to explain in only a few words all the nuances of vibrato - this is a topic that requires a lot of analysis to fully understand, and one could easily write a whole essay! Nevertheless, in this post, I will try to give a few words to start with, and share with you some of the main things to think about when developing your vibrato to help you fully express the message of the music. 

How much vibrato is the right amount?

"Use vibrato to help the violin sing naturally, like the human voice."

A room already has its own vibrations - it has an acoustic. Then your instrument vibrates too, your bow, even your body and your soul. Everything must work together. If you use a lot of vibrato, for a resonant room it might be too much, but for a dry acoustic, it could be the right amount. You must use your ears, and adjust your approach to suit each different performance space. 

However, it is not only a question of physics and the physical resources you work with. Different composers are like different planets, and each demands a different coloring and style - the right vibrato for Mozart is different from Tchaikovsky, or Shostakovich. And then in earlier music, in Bach, for example, it is also a question of the instrument and bow you use - you could choose to play a period instrument with a baroque bow, or use a modern setup of violin and bow. 

Choose a vibrato according to how you feel about the music, the style you choose to perform in, and colors you would like to produce. So, first, you must imagine the vibrato you would like, and then both your hands must be sufficiently under your control to follow what your brain tells them.

Should vibrato stay constant, or change?

"Vibrato can be fast, slow, wide, narrow - the possibilities are limitless, and which vibrato you choose depends on what you want to say in music."

When the harmony changes, something must change, this is the rule. Changing vibrato is one possible way to show the change in color, in coordination with the right hand. 

Conversely, when the harmony does not change, the color usually should not change too much - this can be a shock to the listener’s ear and prevents you from building a longer phrase. 

How and when you use vibrato should be a deliberate choice, a tool to help you express the colors in music. Sometimes students use vibrato without paying much attention - vibrating constantly, or randomly according to when it feels comfortable. This adds no meaning or expression to the music, and can even detract from what you are trying to convey. How and when you use vibrato must always be in your control, just like you modulate your voice expressively when you speak. 

What about non-vibrato?

"Non-vibrato is also an important color, like the white in the palette of a painter."

Non-vibrato is a great resource, a very powerful one, and we often underestimate its importance.

An example of when it can be very useful is a sustained longer note, while the harmony changes in the other parts. In this case, one possibility is to begin the note non-vibrato, and then start to vibrate when the color changes. After non-vibrato, the warmth of the vibrato comes like a savior.

Technical considerations for vibrato

"Both the left and right hand are important for vibrato, and always have to work together."

Vibrato starts from the right hand, with the speed and pressure of the bow causing the string to vibrate. And then, whatever you cannot do with the right hand, the left hand comes to help. 

In the left hand, vibrato starts from the phalangeal joint, the tip of the finger, with your whole left hand very relaxed and free.

However, it is a free right hand which makes the sound very vibrant and rich in overtones, not only the left hand vibrato. Use the speed of the bow and avoid pushing too much into the string - this can choke the sound.

To help develop the right hand, I recommend working first of all without vibrato, and then only adding vibrato in the left hand when you really need it. 

The left and right hand always have to be interconnected and work together. You must always be in control of your body, and the most important thing is to use your ears to guide you.

To conclude

Choosing vibrato is like a painter choosing colors. There are many more things to think about than only what the left hand is doing. You must listen and train your ear - this is the most important organ for all musicians, even above our hands. 

I hope these recommendations are helpful for those who would like to develop or teach vibrato, or are interested to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes in the “chef’s kitchen” of a violinist. With vibrato, we can harness the natural vibrations of our body, instrument, and acoustic, and breathe life into our sound.

Watch the full teaching video below, where Maxim explains in further detail and demonstrates the concepts he introduces in this article:

This series was curated and co-written by Anna Gould.

The post VENGEROV'S VIEWS | Vibrato as a Source of Color and Expression appeared first on World's Leading Classical Music Platform.

To help celebrate the launch of our new site, and the re-launch of Maxim Vengerov's new website, maximvengerov.com, over the coming weeks the superstar violinist, teacher, and conductor, will be guest presenting a series of exclusive teaching advice classes for our readers, teachers, and students everywhere.

Accompanied by helpful teaching videos that demonstrate key concepts, Maxim will cover a wide range of topics including sound, left and right-hand technique, bowing, breathing, harmony and structure, and interpretation.

In today’s second lesson, Maxim discusses how to develop your own sound.

Join us over the coming weeks, and be sure to share the classes with your own students and friends, and let us know how Maxim’s advice has helped you on your journey to learn more.

The post VENGEROV'S VIEWS | Violinist Maxim Vengerov on Developing your Own Sound appeared first on World's Leading Classical Music Platform.

To help celebrate the launch of our new site, and the re-launch of Maxim Vengerov's new website, maximvengerov.com, over the coming weeks the superstar violinist, teacher, and conductor, will be guest presenting a series of exclusive teaching advice classes for our readers, teachers and students everywhere.

Accompanied by helpful teaching videos explaining and demonstrating key concepts, Maxim will cover a wide range of topics including sound, left and right hand technique, bowing, breathing, harmony and structure, and interpretation.

In today’s first lesson, Maxim talks us through the importance of ‘Storytelling in Music’.

Join us over the coming weeks, and be sure to share the classes with your own students and friends, and let us know how Maxim’s advice has helped you on your journey to learn more.

Watch the full teaching video below, where Maxim explains in further detail and demonstrates the concepts he introduces in this article:

To find out more about Maxim, including his recordings and upcoming performances, visit www.maximvengerov.com.

You can also subscribe to his YouTube channel and follow his official social media sites:

The post VENGEROV'S VIEWS | Violinist Maxim Vengerov on Storytelling in Music appeared first on World's Leading Classical Music Platform.

My students have been mainly teenagers for the last decade, so imagine the spark in my eye when a five-year-old pops into my studio.  (Literally, I am told that my eyes become as cartoonishly large as Rapunzel's)  I have always found the most joy to be found here, in the very beginning steps.  As a teacher, a lump of clay stands in front of you, most likely with a giant smile and an earnest attempt to hold the tiny violin.  How do we even begin to mold the adorable lump of clay?   I have been discovering and rediscovering this process for many years and with many, many wonderful students.

To start, I find that most violin shops send families home with instruments that are too big.  It is very important that the violin be the perfect size with an edge towards the smaller end.  Everything needs to fall into place easily and with as little frustration as possible.  Smaller is easier.

After the family comes back with the smaller size, I then start a two-fold teaching approach: the bow and the violin.  I begin by telling the story of the bow hand and its fingers and everyone's jobs.  (Spoiler alert: someone is lazy!)  I take photos/videos and decorate Instagram posts with rainbows, unicorns, trucks, batman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and whatever excites and inspires.  This part is tedious for everyone — the beginner, the parent, and the teacher.

With the violin, I usually begin with a sponge, but I am always flexible.  (Flexibility is key in the teaching of all ages/levels).  I make sure the parent (or child) understands how the violin feels.  If the violin is uncomfortable, I place some moleskin over the metal bars, and then the child always agrees with me that the violin feels like a snuggly pillow.  I also promise the parent and new violinist that there are NO silly questions.  They can ask me anything.

During this time, I get to know the child.  Likes, dislikes, favorite foods, siblings, sports, etc.  I encourage the child to ask me questions also. Want to know why I love orangutans?  Interested in my obsession with ballet?  Trust develops quickly like this, and the bubble of joy will remain around you.

The bubble is very important.  As we all know, the bubble inevitably pops on every student, but the later, the better.  The longer my eyes stay Rapunzel-sized and the longer the child is actively engaged, the faster and more fun the learning is.

After both the violin position and the bow hold are on the right road, I then begin a few "Pre-Twinkle" pieces - Birdie Song, Flower Song, Monkey Song.  Before Twinkle, my hope is that the bow hand looks beautiful and soft (like chocolate soft-serve ice cream) and the left hand shape is perfect (like a water slide).   It's very important to remain in the bubble at this critical juncture and to include the parent in every lesson.

I am not a "Suzuki" teacher, but I do use Books 1-4 for the excellent repertoire.  I skip some pieces and supplement with other books (such as Josephine Trott's Double stop system).  I also soak the vitamins out of each piece and move on.  I polish 3/4 of pieces, but never to the point of frustration.  Once you sense frustration, NOTHING is worth staying on Minuet 1, Martini Gavotte, or Seitz.  This is the needle that will puncture your beautiful bubble of joy.  Let it go and return to it later.

Best of luck, teachers, and families.  This is a beautiful journey.  Keep those hands soft and that bubble around you!

-Elizabeth Faidley

Suggestions and ideas for Parents:

- Listen to violinists, chamber groups, and orchestras in the background of your house, car, etc.

- Trust your teacher on specifics and try to block out the white noise

- Attend concerts. Let young children color and just listen.

- Develop a practice schedule and stick with it, even if you (parent) want to lay on the floor and watch "Ozark" after a rough day

Elizabeth's Book List for Parents:

- Carol Dweck "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success"

- Angela Duckworth "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance"

- Edmund Sprunger "Helping Parents Practice: Ideas for Making it Easier"

- Esther Wojcicki "How to Raise Successful People"

A highly sought-after pedagogue, violinist Elizabeth Faidley is in her fifteenth year at The Manhattan School of Music: Pre-College Division and was the recipient of the American String Teachers’ Association 2011 “Studio Teacher of the Year” award. She has a large private studio in the New York City metropolitan area where she teaches violin performance to aspiring players from ages 3 to 23. Her students have won national and international competitions and have performed in such great halls as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, and the White House. They are routinely accepted, with scholarships, to the world’s premier music conservatories including The Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory, the Juilliard School, Peabody Conservatory, Rice University, the Royal College of Music, and The Cleveland Institute. Her students routinely perform as soloists with orchestras around the country and have been laureates of the Sphinx Competition, the Cooper Violin Competition, and the International Stulberg Competition.

The post Violin Pedagogue Elizabeth Faidley on Teaching Young Beginners appeared first on World's Leading Classical Music Platform.

Can you tell us about your passion for teaching and how your approach/pedagogy has evolved over the years?

When I started teaching I didn’t even know that I had a passion for teaching. I was asked if I would do it and I said yes. What I found interesting was that teaching forced me to think more clearly about what I do, and figure out how to explain what I do. And by having to do that, I had to think about why I do it. That is where I think my relationship to playing the violin and being a musician became more crystallized. Most of us start playing when we are way too young to know why we do it or if we even want to do it. You kind of just do it because it’s what you have always been doing.

I was lucky enough to be very successful so I was playing and I barely had time to think about what I was going to do tomorrow, much less why I was playing the violin. Beginning to teach was a moment of reflection and it really made me realize how incredibly important being a violinist was for my life.

What I really feel I learned is that you have to keep reminding people why they are doing this. What is the motivation? The motivation is really communication. Communicating the love that you have for what you do with people who you don’t know, and you probably are never going to meet. And yet you have this obligation to really be very clear in your love for it, and in your desire for them to share in it. It’s a lot!

It has become a focus for me to keep saying to people, 'Look, when you play a concert you ask people to possibly get a baby sitter, get dressed, make a trip, buy a ticket, sit down, pay attention, shut up basically, and love you!' You want to give them something for all of this effort. The best thing that you can give them is just innate love for music and the belief that it does make your life better. That if you listen to it, you will be better for it.

What are the most beneficial aspects of having weekly studio classes?

I think there are basically two different issues that are incredibly important here. Number one is the opportunity for the students to perform. I always say that there are 5 kinds of performances. The first step is when you are performing for yourself at home and nobody is hearing you. The second is when you play the same piece for your teacher. The third is in class. The fourth is in a concert at school. And the fifth is a concert out in the world. I don’t think you can skip any of the steps.

Obviously, when you are no longer a student, two of the steps are bypassed because you don’t have a teacher and you don’t have a class. But by that time you probably don’t need the five. But at the beginning you really do. You need to see how it works, what works, what doesn’t work, what do you do about what doesn’t work.

There are things you cannot really do anything about. People always focus on the acoustics being bad. Well, what are you going to do about it? You better live with it. Or people say that the weather makes their violin sound terrible. Well if you have a concert at Carnegie Hall, you are not going to say this. Just learn how to deal with it. There are all kinds of things that you do need to learn. This is one aspect.

The other aspect I think is very important is that I ask the class to listen with the understanding that I will ask them to comment afterward. There are several things to learn. The first thing is, never say something to somebody that you don’t want them to say to you. How do you say it so it is constructive, but not offensive? This is a skill. People are not born knowing how to do that.

You have to listen in a way that is very detailed, so that you actually have  something to say rather than 'I liked it' or 'I didn’t like it.' An audience member can say that, but a professional cannot just stop there. Why did you like it? What did you like about it? And then perhaps what did you not like or what do you think could be improved? It really improves their listening skills and it also teaches them how to comment. 

How did you adapt your teaching to the COVID-19 situation? What do you feel is most challenging for students during these times?

I think the most challenging aspect about it is that the class really becomes a community and they don’t have this in-person community now. It is missing. This is really something that they depend on. Usually, they play for each other, they talk to each other about music and other things, they just interact socially. I think it is a very important component of going to school and it is completely missing. So I am really eternally grateful to NEC for allowing us to have some in-person lessons. Those students who are here have lessons every other week in person, which is great.

But even those who are here are being very careful because they know that otherwise, the school won’t let them in. So they can’t interact normally. We had two classes in person this semester because it is very difficult to schedule the time, and then we are only allowed to stay one hour, and then we have to go out for half an hour, etc., etc. It is all very complicated, but nice for all of us to just be together and see people.

The other thing is that I can barely tell what their sound is, so I am commenting by looking. What kind of a way is that to teach? I don’t know for sure because you cannot hear real violin sound, you cannot hear any dynamics, and you cannot hear any inflections hardly at all. It has been very challenging.

I think that students are very worried about the future, I must say I am a little less worried about it. I do believe in the fact that music is really necessary for at least part of the population and after this is over they will want it more than ever.

I choose to be optimistic. I don’t know what this gloom and doom is going to do. It doesn’t help. I just don’t participate in that particularly, but I think they are very worried about their futures. You know how it is, you sit by yourself and you just kind of go over and over these worries and they get bigger. It is not healthy. They started giving the vaccine, so let’s hope it works!

Tell us about your "Musical Homages" studio class concert series? What are you hoping to achieve? What are your goals for your students?

I think that any opportunity to perform is great. And any opportunity for them to get together and to have to put together a program is great because if you want to be a professional this is something you will have to learn how to do. They learn from each other, they exchange ideas.

This process in normal years takes a couple of months because they are lazy about it. This time they didn’t have the luxury so they had to do it quickly which was great. There was a flurry of communication and I had nothing to do with it. I gave them basically my opinion about what I thought might be interesting and I left them alone. I think that was a good process and a lot of people looked for pieces that were not necessarily in front of the mill pieces and that was a good thing.

They are very excited about finally having something to perform. Most of them had very little opportunity. A couple probably did some online stuff but most of them didn’t do anything. They are starved for the opportunity to perform. Everybody was all into it. I didn’t have to remind them that I haven’t heard the pieces in lessons, everybody remembered. It was great.

What positive aspects did you see coming out of the project? 

What I am hoping is that people will continue to look for new repertoire. Because one of the things that happen in school is that one person plays, let’s just say, the Elgar Concerto, then in the next three months six other people want to play only the Elgar concerto. And if somebody plays Beethoven’s 7th Sonata then half of the class is playing Beethoven’s 7th Sonata.

I always say that there are all kinds of pieces out there that you don’t know. Even from the canon, there are pieces that they don’t know. Why don’t you look and find new repertoire. This time they looked for it, and I really hope that they learned to explore things that they don't already know.

The idea of making room for compositions by Black composers, by Hispanic composers, by women composers is important. Because it is part of the problem. There is no question about it. We don’t know it and what we don’t know we assume is no good. This assumption, where does it come from? I don’t know. But there is no question that there is that assumption, that it is no good therefore nobody plays it. But not necessarily, so I hope that that will also be an outcome of this.

What advice or encouragement would you like to give to students everywhere for the coming semesters?

It’s always the same. We do this because we love music. That is the motivating force. Music is there and we love it. And this love I don’t think should be affected at all by COVID.

Once we can start having performances, even for 50 people — it would be better than for nobody — things will start regenerating. The musical life that we are used to will come back and I believe that this could be used as an opportunity to invent new ways of doing this, to look for new venues, new audiences, new opportunities.

I always say build on the basic reasons that you have for doing this which is love of music. And if you really love it you will want to share it with people and figure out who you want to share it with.

The post VC INTERVIEW | Miriam Fried on Her "Musical Homages" Studio Class Challenge appeared first on World's Leading Classical Music Platform.

Professor of Violin at the Juilliard School of Music

In my opinion, it is important to understand the source of the stress that the parent is feeling, and to be compassionate about the fact that fear is often the fuel for that stress.

It is clearly essential for everyone involved, especially the student, to establish respectful boundaries and to outline what form of communication is workable for you as the teacher.

It is also useful to clarify to the student that it is necessary for them to take more and more responsibility for their own progress. Therefore, I do not have parents sitting in on lessons from the age of 11 on. In the end, everyone is there to serve the child and to find ways to support their best interests. Thus, finding a peaceful solution is key!

Joel Smirnoff

Professor of Violin at the Juilliard School of Music

I have seen the very positive and very negative with parents of my students.

The process of teaching involves setting an example of fairness, justice, kindness, and attentiveness. At all times, students must feel supported and “heard,” as searching young artists and as young people wishing to understand and navigate the world.

Parents worry, inevitably, about how their children “measure up” and justifiably, about whether “traditional” musical pursuits can lead to a fulfilling and secure existence. However, a parent may feel their child’s lack of “stardom-like” success is due to faulty teaching. The trust between student and teacher can begin to erode and the pure joy of learning falls victim to outward measurements.

I find such problems exist only when a parent has a wish to dominate the child, stifling her/his independence of thought/feeling and its development. In these cases, it is highly unlikely that the artistic personality of the child will flourish, as the learning process itself will be stifled. Art thrives within free environments…and that includes families.

Therefore, my answer: encourage and respect each student’s unique personality and gift, regardless of age, even if their parents do not!

Mimi Zweig

Professor of Violin at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and founder of StringPedagogy.com

In my 45 years of teaching and directing the Jacobs School of Music String Academy for pre-college students there have only been a handful of “overbearing” parents.* We do encourage supportive parents that come to all the lessons (for students 12 and under), sit quietly, take notes and practice at home with their children.

From the beginning we make it very clear to the students and parents that the non-judgmental environment that we create translates into a place of learning – where mistakes are not the enemy, they are simply information which the students can process, act upon and therefore make steady progress. We also speak to the fact that students progress at different tempos and will be at different points in the repertoire at different ages.

Students are not compared to each other, just evaluated on their own individual progress. Because of the weekly private lesson/group format, all can hear that students who invest more time and effort make faster progress. This philosophy has created a wonderful school where the students are inspired, are thriving and the parents are happy.

*PS: The few parents who leave the String Academy find other schools that fit their needs.

Almita Vamos

Professor of Violin at the Music Institute of Chicago

In recent years, I have not had a difficult time with most parents. In all my years of teaching, I had maybe two or three parents that I considered harmful to their child's well being. I try to understand the parents. Parents put a lot of time, effort, and money into their child's musical education and they want their children to benefit from their sacrifices. I feel that without the support of the parent, the child might also suffer from a lack of advantages a parent can give. If the parent gets a little out of control, I try to balance it by giving the child my support. 

I also appreciate it if I, on the other hand, get a little too intense that the parent gives the child more support. We need to juggle a little bit. I understand if the parent feels that they need to look for further advantages for their child. I support that. I can because I am at the point in my life where I don't need to hold on to a student to benefit my own career. I never wanted to teach a student if they or their parents wanted to move on. I don't think of this as an overbearing parent but one who realizes the difficulties in a competitive field. 

Of course they are concerned. Most parents don't really understand the difference between excellent, fair or bad training as they may not be musicians themselves. I cannot say "look, just follow my advice, I am the best." In the end, they usually make the best decision for their child. I don't advise the parents too much. Only if they ask me but even then, they are checking other places for advice. 

I feel bad for younger teachers who are excellent and devoted but the parents decide to go elsewhere because their child did not win a contest. Most of my biggest success was probably due to the fact that my students win contests. Musicians know that that is ridiculous. Just because a student wins is not necessarily a testament to the teacher's artistic, technical or teaching abilities. 

I had a good laugh when a very well known teacher said "I wish that all my students were orphans." I get the humour but I also never had a young orphan come for lessons. If a parent is difficult, it might be worth trying to understand. You do not have to keep a student if you feel that the parent or student is disrespectful but if you show anger or annoyance you will lose in the end. Don't bother, let it go.

Simon James

Professor of Violin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Though my personal experience has been overwhelmingly positive, every teacher has a story or two about dealing with well meaning, overbearing parents.

Three of the most challenging parent types that can undermine the student-teacher relationship are those who know just a little about the violin, those who want to join the studio so their child will win competitions, and those who promote gossip among the other parents.

The parent who knows a little about the violin often thinks that they know best. When a parent contradicts the teacher the student becomes musically confused and faces the unhealthy choice of either pleasing the parent or pleasing the teacher. Teachers and parents should resolve their differences and present a united front to create a positive learning environment.

The parent who complains that their child has not won all the competitions they entered can be equally troublesome. This mindset is damaging and can cause the student to think of themselves as a failure. Growth as an artist through the process of preparing for competitions is what is important. Winning is a bonus.

Parents that gossip regularly with other parents can quickly undermine the atmosphere of the studio. It is important to address this problem directly and immediately. Camaraderie among the parents should be encouraged. Positive use of their diverse strengths can form an excellent support system for the studio.

It is important to be as fair as possible with every student to gain their trust and the support of their parents. If there are ongoing unresolved issues, it is helpful to respectfully remind the parent that they are consumers of a teaching product, and if they wish to consume elsewhere, they are free to do so.

Svetlana Makarova

Violin Professor at the Lausanne University of Music

In my opinion, the secret to the successful development of a violinist is largely dependent on three elements: student’s talent, the wisdom and dedication of a teacher, and the sensitivity of parents. The famous professor Stolyarsky (teacher and mentor of Oistrakh, Milshtein, Boris Goldstein) said that I was not looking for talented students, but talented parents.

There are two types of overbearing parents. The former regard the child as a means of satisfying their ambitions, and sometimes this can become too much pressure on the child's psyche. The second type of overbearing parent is the one who wants to help their child become what the child wants to become.

For me, as a teacher, it is important to understand what type of parents I am dealing with. If these are parents of the first type, then I try to minimize contact with them. if these are parents of the second type - cheers I got lucky! These are my allies, amazing collaborators, and assistants, especially with very young violinists. They help me better understand the mentality, psychology of the student, motivate and discipline his practicing, help organize logistics and provide control over homework according to my instructions and advice.

I really appreciate and give all my respect and support to the parents of the second type, who put the child in the first place and not just the satisfaction of their thirst for success and glory.

Danielle Belen

Associate Professor of Violin at the Michigan School of Music, Theater and Dance

Parents will move mountains to ensure that no barriers stand in the way of their child’s success. As a violin teacher, I’ve witnessed more than a few cases where the parent is, in fact, the main barrier. A parent shaming or even joking about their child’s mistakes or, worse, comparing them to another student, is simply not acceptable and can do irreparable harm. But how to handle this?

As a young teacher in my mid-20’s, I learned that I had to establish boundaries at the first sign of this behavior, even when the misbehaving parent in question was my elder. A direct conversation with a clear ultimatum “I cannot continue working with your family if you behave this way.Your actions, not your child’s, are damaging her chance for success.” It was bold, but it resulted in an abrupt change of behavior and a new sense of trust in me.

While some parents might need to be overcome, other overbearing parents may instead need to simply have their energy rerouted, to be made to feel like they are part of the team. Depending on the age of the student, a parent can help with important but harmless tasks like printing and organizing a music binder, keeping track of a repertoire list, and assisting with technology (especially during these zoom-filled days online!) 

A wise person once told me that “a parent’s main job is simply to drive their young musician to the concert, and take them out for ice cream afterward.”  Of course, it’s more complicated than that, as parents can be a wonderful tool in the practice room when kids are very young. The ice cream quote, however, reminds us that children need their parents to be on their team, no matter what.  

Ultimately, I think that when we all learn how to respect children as we do adults, we build a support system that enables the young artist to become the best version of themselves.

Do you have a question you’d like our network to answer? Simply email: hello@theviolinchannel.com

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Violin and Viola Pedagogue – Manhattan School of Music

To get the most value from virtual lessons, it is crucial – initially – that you test the equipment the student will use.

The student and the teacher must have a digital stereo microphone, a wifi system with sufficient bandwidth and speed, and a camera.

A mobile phone is not adequate. iPad or other tablet is essential.

One brand/model which has worked well is the logitech C922 pro HD stream WebCam. In different locations skype, facetime, or zoom (properly set up to optimize [not the default setting]) is also essential.

The teacher must be very well organized.

Knowing in advance the repertoire that the student will perform is essential. The teacher and student should use the same edition, which should also be available at hand, to save time and facilitate covering more material.

The positive aspects of teaching virtually include increased focus of the student, fewer disruptions (except for technical issues), and availability when student cannot be present physically.

The negative aspects include the need for the teacher to be conscious of the student’s physical tension.

The teacher must be able to identify this by listening to the sound quality and observing the student. If the student plays with a pianist, the balance may be an issue. If the student and teacher are in widely separated locations, the time difference may pose challenges.

Teaching virtually is more challenging than when I teach a student in person. I seem to use more energy when talking and teaching virtually.

Each lesson is very focused and intense without a break. After teaching 6+ hours per day, I find myself physically exhausted and hoarse.

To optimize the experience, preparation, a good connection, a well lit room, and patience are necessary.

Sometimes if I am teaching a new student whom I have never met in person, I would be very conscious of how he/she enters the room, his/her body language, set up, and communication skills and style.

These aspects are often difficult to observe in a virtual lesson

Ralph Kirshbaum

Cello Pedagogue – USC Thornton School of Music

Three months ago the lives of all of us were comprehensively turned upside down by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As teachers, we were called upon to move instantly from in-person teaching to teaching online. My thoughts on this immutable fact are as follows:

1) Accept the reality of the situation---be flexible and curious and open to new ideas. Personally, I had to put aside my own bias for in-person lessons that, out of principle, had been my sole experience of teaching for nearly 50 years. Online lessons have proven to be surprisingly productive, even in matters of sound production and nuances of phrasing involving inflection and articulation.

2) Zoom seems to be the most widely used platform for online teaching. While excellent for speech and visual clarity, it initially seemed very poor for transmitting sound from musical instruments. After heeding advice from tech-savvy colleagues and students at USC Thornton, this problem was in large part overcome.

a) The student should have a reasonable external USB microphone

b) The position of the microphone should be tested and adjusted for each lesson

c) Adjust the audio settings within Zoom, disabling the ‘automatic volume control’ and the two suppression controls while activating the ‘Advanced’ setting and the ‘Original sound’ option

d) Ensure that the student closes all background settings on their computer

3) Teach with the same involvement and concentration online as you do instinctively in person; the experience is somehow more tiring, but can be unexpectedly rewarding

Lucie Robert

Violin Pedagogue – Manhattan School of Music

After the initial shock and disbelief at how inferior the sound quality was on all of the apps I tried, I had to change my teaching focus and not rely primarily on the tone quality.

To help improve the quality, I asked my students to hard-wire their internet connections and purchase a good microphone.

I opted to use Zoom because it had the largest viewing frame of the programs I tried. This allowed me to see everything at once so I didn’t have to lose the visual aspect of the lesson on top of the reduced sound quality.

I made sure that my students positioned themselves so I could see their left hand and their bow arm/hand with a clear view all the way to the tip. From watching how they played/moved, I could deduce how it sounded and work from there.

Since most students are visually oriented, I also asked them a few days after their online lessons to make a video of their playing so they could carefully watch, listen, and study their recordings as a tool in preparation for their next lesson.

When I felt their pieces were near performance level, I had them make another recording, in lieu of their lesson. I then sent back detailed critiques of their performance after which they would again study and practice, then send me their final version. I found that combining these two methods was extremely helpful for my students.

My biggest worry when the pandemic began was that my students might regress, but fortunately, that did not happen. Needless to say, I am excitingly looking forward to seeing them all in person in my studio – hopefully very soon

Alexander Kerr

Dallas Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster and Violin Pedagogue – Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

Since joining the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 2011, I have spent quite a bit of time teaching online and have learned a lot about gaining the most from this amazing technological resource.

Of course, there are limitations to the medium, but here are some fundamental guidelines that can really help get the most out of the experience.

1. Bandwidth is everything. I can’t stress enough that an online experience is truly at the mercy of a strong internet connection!
2. A decent microphone also helps a ton. One can get a good mike for a reasonable price and it really does make a difference in being able to better judge tone and dynamic contrast.
3. Volume and projection are difficult to ascertain in a condensed digital setting, so don’t concentrate so much on them. One can always judge the quality of sound, phrasing, dynamic contrasts, vibrato, intonation, portamenti, set up and stage presence, so focus lessons on what you can better, not what you can’t.
4. Try not to play, clap, speak or make too many other extraneous sounds or motions (especially simultaneously) that will eat up the digital data available. The system can only take so much, so try not to overload it!

There are plenty of other little tips that I have learned over these past years but these are some concrete ways of getting the best experience possible!

Grigory Kalinovsky

Violin Pedagogue – Indiana University Jacob School of Music

Having experienced online lessons from both sides of the screen since 1993 - first as a student working with Pinchas Zukerman and Patinka Kopec, and then as a teacher presenting remote masterclasses using dedicated video-conferencing equipment as well as private lessons using personal computers - I have seen the technology at its best and at its worst.

As is true with almost anything in life, experience is key, and at this point, I feel that although nothing can replace face-to-face lessons when the technology works well, I can make an online lesson nearly as useful for the student as if it was in-person.

The best software for music lessons out there currently is Polycom RealPresence Desktop with MusicMode enabled, however, it requires access to a good SIP server, preferably university-based, and a license fee from every user (not just the teacher).

Therefore, I have been using Zoom with advanced audio settings more and more (enabling stereo and disabling noise-cancellation), usually with decent results - Zoom makes violin sound a bit harsher than Polycom, but not terribly so.

No other platform I have tried so far sounds better or even as good. 

Things that I find are a must for a solid online lessons experience are:

1. A decent USB microphone (Audio-Technica AT2020USB is my preferred one, though Yeti Blue is also quite good, and even the cheaper Blue Snowball can be sufficient if price is an issue).
2. Wired internet connection. Even the best WiFi is not stable enough for a live music lesson, therefore getting a sufficiently long ethernet cable (Cat 6 or higher) with an ethernet-to-USB(-C) adapter if your computer does not have an ethernet port, is a must - the lesson experience with a wired connection is better by an order of magnitude.
3. The best internet connection plan you can afford - upload speed is especially important for your sound to come through in the best possible way (at least several Mbps is preferred - my plan currently has 35Mbps upload speed with 1Gbps download).
4. If possible, use a desktop computer, or at least a more powerful laptop. I have recently switched from teaching on my MacBook to using a 27-inch iMac, and besides the bigger screen and fuller sound from the speakers, I was stunned to realize how much better the overall sound quality became even when faced with a slower internet connection from a student

Hans Jørgen Jensen

Cello Pedagogue – Northwestern University Bienen School of Music 

The time right now is great for students to select a few aspects in their playing that they are not happy with and really spend some regular practice time on fixing those issues.
 
Teaching online is great for selecting and zooming in on one topic.
Topics such as these works great for online teaching:
 
·      Intonation
·      Practice Strategy
·      Legato playing without any unwanted portato
 
Online teaching is also a great tool for correcting and fixing basic problems such as:
 
·      Great overall posture
·      Finding the best natural Bow hold
·      Placement of left arm-hand fingers on the fingerboard
 
These two aspects can be hard to judge:
 
·      Dynamics and volume
·      Tonal quality
 
But if we look at the contact point and the speed of the bow we can mostly figure it out.
 
Try to practice great in spite of all the pain and suffering going on

Dr. Robin Wilson

Violin Pedagogue – Australian National Academy of Music

I have found that FaceTime and YouBrio have in fact been the best platforms to use.

The picture and sound are both more consistently clearer than Zoom.

Apparently, with FaceTime, because the technology is built into the devices - iPhones or iPads - it is more streamlined.

The YouBrio App has a smart board function, allowing the student to take a picture of the music in front of them, quickly upload it, and then for both parties to annotate in real time from any device. Truly brilliant!

Annotating suggestions that the student can immediately see saves so much time.

It’s also very useful to have students send a recording in advance to use as the play-through at the beginning of the lesson.

The recording is clearer, without connection glitches and you can hear more nuance of dynamic and sound  - by far the two aspects that are most compromised online.

I also have been asking students to send recordings to pianists, who record accompaniments.

It’s great training for the student to sing their part first (without their instrument) along with the piano part when they receive it.

Although not conducive to spontaneous music making, it nevertheless forces students to really listen and know the complete score!

Catherine Cho

Violin Pedagogue – Juilliard School of Music

"During this new chapter of online teaching, I have found that my primary focus during the online lesson is to stay connected with the spirit of the students. And, this is really the same when working in-person.

When the Zoom/Facetime session starts, there is an immediate sense of joy and warmth because the personal path you have formed by reaching out is still very direct.

The students’ vocal tones, facial expressions, and choice of words reveal so much truth, even in distance learning.

I have found the focus online to be extremely high, and there has been a great level of productivity as students have more space and time to do excellent work with processing ideas and concepts.

I find that students need to dig even deeper to be musically convincing via Zoom, and elements such as phrasing, rhythm, and intonation are certainly not masked by the Zoom tone!

Do you have a question you’d like our network to answer? Simply email: hello@theviolinchannel.com

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Choosing repertoire is a fundamental part of teaching facing instrumental studio teachers. Is it just about understanding, meeting, and stimulating the student’s enjoyment? Or is it about recognizing what skills the student needs to work on to gain overall performance improvement? Or somewhere complexly in-between. Our reader, Edward, was curious to know.

How do you choose your student’s repertoire? Do you have a tried and tested system or is it personalized by each of your student’s own feel, need, and desires. Please let us know in the comments below. We’re all keen to learn more from you.

(Photo courtesy: Bowdoin International Music Festival)

Sergiu Schwartz shares how he chooses repertoire:

Dear Edward,

When addressing this question one has to relate to traditional methods of teaching going back historically to established violin schools including Italian, Franco-Belgian, German, Russian, Hungarian, Czech and their more contemporary relatives from the US, Asia, or more recently El Sistema.

My good fortune was to study early on with remarkable artists pedagogues, themselves direct disciples of Enescu, Oistrach, Hubay, Flesch, Rostal, and Galamian.

While there is freedom for arguments and different methods or principles, the “logical methodology for choosing repertoire for a student” could be best answered by mentioning a few of my assigning criteria.

First, teaching and mentoring young students from different backgrounds, countries, ages, or playing levels, requires my assessment of their capability and natural qualities.

When assigning works of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, or Brahms my approach factors in the complex structural elements of shape, sequencing, harmony, voicing, type of sound, vibrato, bowing, etc. characteristic of the above German masters, but not easily grasped by young students.

There is an appropriate time to assign repertoire meant to develop coordination, facility, or individual projection through mostly romantic works, or when is necessary to assign repertoire meant to help develop deeper artistry and maturity.

The foundation of solid violin playing and coordination is anchored in the well-established methodology of the 19th and 20th centuries.

I favor a good diet of such repertoire while avoiding a “cookie cutter” one system fits all, by selectively assigning technical exercises- including my own formulas- combined with the études and short works most beneficial for a concrete and applicable outcome.

Most composers who wrote violin works, incorporated the technical advances and practices of  Locatelli, Tartini, Viotti, Kreutzer, Rode, Dont, Gavinies, Dancla, Wieniavski, Vieuxtemps, Paganini, Ysaye, to name a few of the influential ones. Under the category I named “ Time and Space connections” I bridge the gap, meaning that for each particular challenge in a Virtuoso piece, Sonata or Concerto, I assign a matching exercise or étude to address and improve what is needed specifically.

When asked about the source of his golden, rich sound, violinist Mischa Elman referred to his grandfather's side of klezmer playing and cantorial singing. Just like a good singer, the violinist’s sound needs a demanding build-up, leading to finding the inner and most beautiful voice.

Consequently, I assign repertoire meant to develop the free sound production characteristic of the violin as primarily a singing instrument. Through the “Finding the inner voice” category of repertoire assignment, I witnessed tangible development of sound expression.

Operatic transcriptions of Dancla, Vieuxtemps, Masenet, Spohr, Paganini, Sarasate, Hubay, Gershwin, Heifetz’s transcriptions from Ave Maria to American folklore, Rachmaninov’s Vocalize, or the expressive writing of movie composer John Williams come to mind.

The category of repertoire assignment I call “Competitive Motivational Outcome” could benefit students I deem ready to enter a competition.

Having judged in many national or international ones, I personally favor situations when the range of repertoire encompasses more styles and periods, as well as multiple choices.

Many competitions require the performance of a contemporary or commissioned new work. The most notable and long tradition has been established by the Queen Elizabeth competition in Bruxelles. I welcome such expansion of repertoire as additional means to stimulate the student’s interest in learning and practicing new works. A few of my students are successfully composing, arranging, transcribing, or writing their own cadenzas.

Finally, my own interaction with giants such as Isaac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin, Sandor Vegh, Nathan Milstein, and Sergiu Celibidache, further shaped and deepened my understanding of styles, and how these artists approached various repertoire themselves.

They always put the integrity and style of the composer above their otherwise amazing interpretative imagination and individuality. This is a credo I abide too when assigning various repertoire and helping my students to achieve their best.

-Sergiu

Do you have a burning question for one of the pros?
Simply email: hello@theviolinchannel.com

Sergiu Schwartz currently serves a teaching Professorships on faculty at the Columbus State University Schwob School of Music and a Guest Professorship at the Conservatoire de Lausanne, in Switzerland | He has performed as a soloist on four continents and frequently conducts masterclasses in Europe, Israel, Russia, Canada, Asia, and the United States. His students include prizewinners at the Paganini, Sarasate, Szeryng, and Oistrakh International Violin Competitions.

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Violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky Shares How His Past Teachings have Shaped His Own Today

It is September and another school year has started. I am very excited to be continuing to work with my students in London and Zurich. Some of them I have seen over the Summer, for others it will be their first lessons since the end of last term.

It is always interesting to see what has been done over the Summer break. Often it is a good chance to reset, to start a fresh program, to set yourself new goals, to concentrate on specific improvements.

For many students, Summer is also a chance to travel to different countries, attend Masterclasses and receive a new jolt of inspiration for the year ahead.

I have always had very fond memories of my Summers as a student. Some of the teachers I ended up studying with I had met either at a Masterclass or at a Summer Festival.

I have always been incredibly lucky with the teachers I had. Thinking back, it felt to me that the right teacher always appeared at the right time.

This also had a lot to do with my mother’s watchful eye and instinct for what was needed for me at the time, but I am sure that luck had played a role as well.

During the lessons with my students, I often find myself wanting to repeat many of the things that my teachers used to tell me.

Whether it is about the relaxation of the right hand, (my personal favourite as my students can attest to!!), bow distribution, the dexterity of the fingers in the left hand, or about the phrasing, the different colours and overall musical conviction; when I see problems in front of me that I also had to deal with, I literally have flashbacks and images of being told how to work on these things during my own lessons in the past.

The question then becomes: am I copying too much from my old teachers? Will their words be as useful to my students as they were to me? I guess the answer is, as it always is when it comes to music making, very individual and personal.

Again it is important to emphasize how lucky I have been with my teachers. They have taught or are teaching some of the best violinists over the past 40 to 50 years.

They have had years of experience of guiding multiple generations of instrumentalists towards a wonderful standard of musicianship and technical excellence.

Of course I want to share as much of what I picked up from them as possible, because I know that it works.

However, I have also learnt, through them and through myself, that teaching is not just about delivering information, but the way in which this is done.

Being a teacher is a lot like being a top level sports coach, it is about finding the individual intangibles that will make the biggest differences to each pupil individually.

For example, this can be psychological; knowing which student can benefit more from being pushed, and which one needs a more supportive and gentle approach.

And of course, this is also so important in the practical sense. For example, I might have 2 students who have problems with their right arms which prevent them from making a beautiful, rich tone.

Let’s say that both of their right shoulders are raised. The starting point would be to try and bring the shoulder down by relaxing the right arm completely, trying to find a natural weight in the arm which would transfer into the sound.

But once you bring the shoulder down, each student might have a completely different feeling in their arm. One might drop the elbow too far down, while the other will press even more with their fingers on the bow because they are afraid of being too relaxed and losing control.

Perhaps the end result is very different to anything that I ever did myself, so there is no memory bank of advice that I can access. Only the words that I say or the demonstration that I give can offer the solution to the student, so I must make that judgement myself.

As I continue to develop as a teacher and become more and more experienced, the knowledge that I gained in the past is invaluable and I am so fortunate to have received it.

However it will only help me up to a point, and it is my own instincts and my own sense of how to best help the student that will hopefully make the difference and help them reach their potential.

- Alexander

Do you have an idea for a blog or news tip? Simply email: hello@theviolinchannel.com

Alexander Sitkovetsky was born in Moscow into a family with a well-established musical tradition. His critically acclaimed CPO recording of Andrzej Panufnik’s Violin Concerto with the Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin commemorating the composer’s 100th birthday won an ICMA Special Achievement Award. He is an alumnus of the prestigious ‘Chamber Music Society Two’ programme at the Lincoln Center, and in 2016 received the Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award. Alexander is a founding member of the Sitkovetsky Piano Trio, with whom he has won various prizes including the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Kammermusik Prize. 

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