Have you ever played the same piece for 2 different people (perhaps for masterclasses or lessons) and received conflicting feedback? Continue reading “Conflicting Feedback? Here’s a Lesson I Learned”
In the world of classical music, the nature of learning and honing an instrument at a high level puts musicians in a culture that embraces the advantage of an early start and a deep commitment to the craft. This is especially evident in modern-day conservatory cultures. Some musicians take their passion so far as to devote their life not only to their instrument but to focus on one specific style of music. While this level of depth and attention to minute details is admirable and something artists explore endlessly, the narrow scope has its disadvantages. Continue reading “The Interplay Between Specialization and Diversification”
A few weeks ago I had a deep conversation about reducing tension and extra finger pressure in the left hand, in which I got a fresh perspective and sensation on an already-familiar concept. The different “vocabulary” helped me experience a small, but very important breakthrough (which will hopefully stick).
Left hand tension is something that can easily show up under pressure, especially when it’s not given enough attention in practice. For several years I practiced Simon Fischer’s exercise on finding the minimum finger pressure (you can find this exercise in Basics and Warming Up). It’s a great exercise and I got pretty good at it. However, whenever I attempted to apply the concept in repertoire, especially during a run-through, I was never able to remember to use less finger pressure, especially in moments when it was crucial. After the conversation, I realized that while the Simon Fischer exercise is fantastic, on its own it’s been just that – an exercise. In order for me to become more consistent with feeling release in the left hand, I had to take my whole body into consideration.
Continue reading “A Kinesthetic Approach to Releasing the Left Hand”
Two breakthroughs in one day? Yes, it’s possible – especially if one small tweak takes care of two problems at once.
Have you ever experienced a plateau in your playing that seemed to stick around for years and years? You regularly practiced prescribed exercises in attempt to overcome a specific obstacle; you understood, and maybe even taught the concepts to others, only to come short in achieving a specific level of consistency yourself.
In my experience – both personally and through observing students and colleagues – breakthroughs usually happen in one of two ways, and sometimes in combination:
Continue reading “Overcoming Plateaus and Hitting That Breakthrough”
Two summers ago I developed severe pain in my left trapezius (specifically, the back of my neck extending toward the shoulders and across the upper back) while playing two Mozart operas back-to-back for an opera festival. This went on for a week straight with no days off, and was followed by a Wagner opera a few weeks later. The pain lingered around for hours after playing, and my own default “quick-fix” methods to relieve the pain were no longer working. It was time to take action beyond my instinctual behaviors (ie – limiting physical practice time, making sure I am sitting “correctly,” etc). Thankfully I was able to find an excellent physical therapist at Motion Sports PT in midtown east in Manhattan, and I didn’t have to take any “extended break” from playing the violin, which wouldn’t have helped anyway.
Last week, I had the privilege to attend Juilliard’s virtually-held Starling-Delay Symposium. One of the best events for me was focused around longevity and injury-prevention. Much of what I learned in physical therapy was echoed and explained in greater detail at Pamela Frank and Howard Nelson’s workshop titled Don’t Let This Happen To You. After overcoming a debilitating playing injury, Pamela Frank spent over a year retraining her posture and fundamental movement patterns both during violin-playing and other everyday activities (ie – sitting, standing, sleeping, etc). In this workshop we focused on how to keep a healthy body alignment and how to be more efficient in the practice room.
Want to play better in tune on the violin (or viola, cello, etc)? In addition to having a good sense of relative pitch and left hand fundamentals, string players also need to have a basic understanding of both vertical and horizontal intonation. The bad news is there is no such thing as perfect intonation. The good news is that with experience, string players have the ability to quickly adjust their intonation in real time to stay the best in tune with an ensemble (or themselves).
There are have been many tuning systems throughout music history, many of which are still being used today. If it interests you to explore this topic in greater detail, I strongly recommend Ross Duffin’s book How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (and why you should care).
In addition to the “universally-accepted” equal temperament, here is a summary of two tuning systems that non-tempered instrumentalists (this includes vocalists) should be aware of. Continue reading “Pythagorean Tuning vs Just Intonation | A Paradox of Playing in Tune”
As players of a fret-less stringed instrument that’s not set to equal (or meantone) temperament like a keyboard or marimba, we have the liberty to utilize more than one tuning system. With multiple tuning systems, there’s no such thing as absolutely perfect intonation. Playing the most in tune we can on the violin (or viola, cello, etc) requires a combination of stellar sense of relative pitch combined with active listening, a stable instrument setup, and a reliable left hand technique. The combination of ear training and physical technique creates the mind-body connection (or ear-finger connection, if that makes more sense to you), which allows us to play in tune consistently.
Continue reading “How to Play More in Tune: Ear-Training, Tuning Systems, & Mind-Body Connection”
I have a confession to make – I never really practiced anything by Ševčik growing up. Almost my entire playing career I stayed away from his etude books. The handful of instances I gave Ševčik a chance turned into really grueling, boring, and mind-numbing practice sessions. I felt (and sounded) like a zombie going through sequence after sequence of shifting. Before long, the Ševčik books were out of sight and out of mind for good.
It’s no wonder I had such a miserable time – most students practice Ševčik incorrectly and go on autopilot, which can stunt musical and technical growth. Only recently, after more than 2 decades of playing the violin I really began learning how to approach Ševčik in a strategic way.
Continue reading “How To Practice Ševčik Op. 8 Without Feeling Like a Zombie”
“You must make the best decision you can…The last player left standing at the end of the final round of betting takes the pot.”
Poker and orchestral auditions…really?? We’re talking about gambling vs spending months in the practice room, preparing diligently for one of the toughest job “interviews” ever. I never expected to find so many parallels between these two seemingly unrelated subjects. Psychologist turned pro poker player Maria Konnikova shares some deep insights in her bestseller The Biggest Bluff.
Continue reading “What Do Poker and Orchestral Auditions Have In Common?”
There’s no doubt that mastery of a musical instrument requires many, many hours of practice over a long period of time. The 10,000-hour rule, which states that it takes roughly 10 years, or 10,000 hours to achieve expertise in a field, became a quite popular and generic metric; however, it doesn’t explain how out of a group of people working toward the same goal over the same period of time, some individuals accomplish more and get further. In order to understand this, it’s better to dive deep into Anders Ericsson’s concept of deliberate practice.
What promotes practice to be deliberate (i.e. – structured, methodical, strategic)? Are there any other factors that help certain players stand out? Here are five key ingredients that distinguish top performers.