July 15, 2020

Can You Learn the Violin Online?

We live in a different world now.  Human contact, especially in a hands-on environment, can be deadly these days.  With proper precautions (wear your mask people!), small groups can interact, but larger groups like, say, an orchestra or choir are trouble.  In our new world, artistic professionals (musicians, artists, etc.) have gone to teaching online…

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POSTED BY

violinguy

May 20, 2018

9 of the Dumbest Violin Questions I’ve Heard

As a professional violinist, I get asked a lot of questions.  Is the violin hard?  Are your strings really made out of cat gut?  How old were you when you started?  And many more.  Some of these questions are easy to answer.  On the other hand, I’ve also been asked enough dumb violin questions to…

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POSTED BY

violinguy

January 18, 2018

I Practiced Only Scales for a Month and Look at the Change!

We’ve all seen the ads and “sponsored” content on the interwebs:  I only ate kale and anchovies for a month and look at the difference!  Very annoying for sure.  However, it occurred to me I could use this as a teaching tool and improve my own playing to boot.  I practiced only Carl Flesch scales…

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POSTED BY

violinguy

August 3, 2017

Strong Habits for Young Violin Students

A great many blog posts and ebooks have mimicked the great book,  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Too many really.  I’m not going to copy that other than to say that below are some habits that will make young violin students more successful and therefore happier.  I began playing the violin at age…

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POSTED BY

violinguy

February 15, 2017

How to Learn Your Music Without Your Instrument

Surely one can’t actually learn music without practicing it on the instrument in a practice room.  Well, that is only partly true.  Yes, you have to have your instrument and you have to practice with it to learn music, but there are so many things that can be done with only your sheet music and…

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POSTED BY

violinguy