The Classical Period of music may have given its name as the popular descriptor for all of Western sophisticated instrumental composition, but its actual timeline is relatively short. All of the other delineated musical eras get at least a full…
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HOW TO ROSIN YOUR BOW
Rosining your bow for the first time is a milestone of sorts for new string musicians. Prior to practicing and developing muscle memory, holding the bow and fingering the strings feels clumsy, but rosining the bow is something you can…
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HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR PRIVATE LESSONS
Private lessons are a smart way to hone your techniques and accomplish specific goals. For adult string musicians, private lessons may be the only way to fit lessons into a busy work and household schedule. For students, it can help…
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5 MISTAKES TO AVOID DURING A PERFORMANCE
Throughout your musical career, you will experience the thrill of concerts gone perfect, with each note played exactly as intended. However, you’ll also experience the opposite. There will be concerts where you make small mistakes – and there will probably…
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HOW TO CALM YOUR MUSIC STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE ANXIETY
As a music teacher, you’ll encounter everything from students who casually walk on stage, barely adhering to the concert dress code, and pull off magnificent performances to students so scared they tremble, get sick or flat-out refuse to perform altogether…
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3 STEPS TO TUNING YOUR VIOLIN
In the beginning, your violin teacher will help you tune your instrument - and is happy to do so because tuning is crucial to developing a good ear and the muscle memory required to play the notes accurately. At some…
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WHY DO VIOLIN STRINGS BREAK?
As a violinist, you’re guaranteed to experience a time when your instrument’s strings snap or break. We’ve posted, What To Do If a String Snaps While Performing to help you prepare for the event.
Strings shouldn’t snap very often. If…
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GREAT SOURCES FOR SHEET MUSIC
The beauty of the internet is that it seems everything you could possibly want is just a few clicks away. That's mostly true, except now the challenge is having to sort through an overwhelming number of choices.
This applies to…
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10 CLASSICAL PERIOD COMPOSERS YOU NEED TO KNOW
A
nother list, another opportunity for people to debate who belongs on it. You can pick apart our list of the 10 Romantic Composers You Need to Know or you can stay here and let us know which of your…
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DOS AND DON’TS FOR STRING PERFORMERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
In many ways, becoming a professional string performer means your public life is no longer your own. Everything you do and say, wear or don’t wear, record or publish becomes fodder for fans and critics to analyze, discuss, gossip about…
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18 MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES FOR VIOLINISTS
For pure violin motivation, here are some quotes from those musicians, conductors, and composers who know the instrument and its challenges best:
"The academy gave me a grounding in discipline and hard work that has sustained me throughout life, and…
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HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU REPLACE YOUR VIOLIN STRINGS?
Aviolin’s sound depends on several factors, including the quality of the instrument, accurate tuning, proper playing technique, and the type of the strings you’re using (and their freshness).
When it comes to violin strings, students should focus on selecting strings…
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HOW TO CHOOSE A PRACTICE PARTNER
There's no one, straight path to achieve technical proficiency and artistry with your instrument. Throughout your personal and, hopefully, professional development as a musician, you want to work with a variety of different people in different capacities. Working with practice…
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WHAT IS SHIFTING AND HOW TO MASTER IT
When you’re learning to play the violin, or any string instrument, shifting is an important concept to master. While many beginner students work on first position placement, moving on in your training means developing shifting skills that allow you to…
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CHAMBER PLAYING VERSUS SOLO PLAYING: WHAT WILL INSPIRE A YOUNG STUDENT MOST?
While practicing solo can be - and will be - beneficial to a point, group activities and chamber music settings are the best way to keep beginning and intermediate music students inspired.
Leverage the appeal of awareness, healthy competition…
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QUALITIES OF A GREAT VIOLIN TEACHER
Your relationship with your violin teacher is integral to enjoying the instrument, cultivating a strong work ethic and remaining inspired. This is why it's so important to find the right teacher for your level of musicianship, your mid-term musical goals…
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HOW TO IMPROVE VIOLIN TONE
Violins get a bad rap because their sweet, honeyed tones can sound sharp, whiny or grating - depending on the quality of the instrument and the quality of the techniques used to play it.
If your practice sessions send…
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FREE MUSIC RESOURCES FOR MUSICIANS
Are you a beginning or intermediate music student? Have budget or time constraints made it difficult for you to take the number of music lessons you'd like, or to purchase the sheet music you're dying to play?
Fortunately, the…
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THE IMPORTANCE OF HARMONICS IN PLAYING STRING INSTRUMENTS
Harmonics play a vital role in the overall quality of sound produced by any stringed instrument. However, understanding harmonics can be quite difficult because the physics behind string vibrations are complex. Fortunately, you can produce harmonics with your stringed instrument…
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VIOLA PRACTICE DOS AND DON'TS
Practice is essential for musical proficiency. However, not all practice makes perfect. In fact, an uninspiring setting, the wrong time of day or an over-achieving practice itinerary can hurt - rather than help - your musical development.
Like all…
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