There is nothing more personal to a violinist than his or her bow, yet it is often overlooked. It is wrongly considered as an accessory to a violin, a bit like a tailpiece or a chinrest. I can’t stress enough how important a bow is to a violinist. When I started, like many beginners, I…
Many musicians grow up feeling the need to free themselves from the score, whatever musical style they play. They want to improvise on their instrument. It is always a way to become a more complete musician. It gives the ability to better know their instrument, to better understand the music. Isn’t improvising composing on the…
Well, everybody knows that the violin doesn’t have any frets and that playing in tune is a real challenge on this instrument. Unlike on the guitar, there isn’t a one-inch long box, or cell if you will, to put your finger in to produce a sound. Without frets, it the exact position of your finger…
Perhaps you consider learning the violin, or your children wants to start; maybe you have already begun on that wonderful journey. You want to know how long it will take to get there. Even though the ‘it depends’ answer is of course tempting, I will try and give you several typical cases depending on the…
If you ever want to be a great musician, professional or not, it all starts with practicing. It is that important. There is no way you will be a good violinist by just watching, listening, and mimicking. But when you are all alone, you probably don’t know where to start. Maybe you are not happy…
This happens so many times: as a child or teenager, you got bored with learning the violin and preferred to go and meet your friends. You didn’t want to study alone: you wanted a social life and fun. Now, as an adult, you regret it. You would love to be able to play the violin….