Tips on buying violin

Oh I almost forgot. I have already put up a few posts on my website with tips on what to look out for when buying a violin, be it a new or an old one. Do drop by my website, at The Violin House to take a look. I am also experimenting around with other rather less generic names, so if you have any suggestion, please drop me a line! Thanks!

How to keep the interests going

Just discussed with a parent about student losing interest in violin. I took some time to think about it. Well, interests come and go. The younger the child, the more fleeting the interest. We can see that for young children to have a sustained interest in certain activity, they are either naturally born with it (i.e. "hard-wired" that way), or the interest developed through constant exposure. Some would include constant exposure even during pregancy time.
Learning a musical instrument takes more than interest, and more than talent. They amount to only about 10%. The other 90% are hardwork. Oops! It's too hard. So we need motivation to go along. Unfortunately, motivation is short-lived. So how do we get the "hard work" done?
For one thing, we can keep motivation coming. This can come from teacher, parent, and constant exposure.
As a violin teacher, I only see my student once a week, at most twice. Parents generally would not fork out astronomical fee to hire a violin teacher every day of the week. Oh they would do that for subjects like Maths, Science, etc. at the drop of a hat, but violin? Not unless they wish their child to be a world-standard virtuoso.
So here is the catch. The parents have to make 6/7 of the motivation, with the teacher doing 1/7. Well, maybe 3/7 of the motivation, the other 3/7 would be to listen to really nice violin music, orchestra music, and take part in musical activities, like orchestra rehearsal, mix around with other violin students, compare and contrast notes, etc.
That way, the 90% hard work would not feel so hard. And it can develop the strength of determination, the will to overcome challenges, and be a better person to face the challenges of life in general.

The Use Of Metronome

The metronome, perhaps the most useful invention for musicians, or anywone aspiring to be one... including the drummers, especially!
I remain constantly surprised by students who do not use the metronome. I tried to make fun of it, or make it sound very serious, or be angry and yelled, etc. but to no avail. They just do not use metronome. I would love to know of anyone who can inspire students to vigilantly use metronome everyday until such time that they have develop a quartz clock ticking inside their heads (or hearts). (just joking)
One of the most ridiculous excuse for not using the metronome is ... "I am trying to learn the notes". This excuse is used by fresh beginners, all the way to post-grade-8 students. The end result is skewed rhythm, sometimes as much as 80% of the new piece that they are attempting, though most commonly some 30% to 50%.
A second most common excuse is... "it is too fast". Well, duh... the metronome can be set to a slower speed.
The truth is, there is absolute no reason not to use the metronome from day 1 of learning a new piece. Sure, there are always tricky bits and pockets of the music, from beginner to advanced levels. Sure, we all need to just work out the notes, setting aside rhythms, just focusing on the notes. But that should not last more than approximately 10 minutes. Once the basic notes, finger movements, etc. are grasp, rhythm kicks in. That means setting metronome to a very slow speed to get those tricky bits on-time, then going faster, until such speed that matches the rest of the piece (just starting to learn, or otherwise).
If you cannot get the notes in 10 to 15 minutes, try taking a break (fatigue), or just dropping the piece (not up to standard yet).
That is my advice: use metronome from Day One. Or have a quartz clock implanted somewhere. (hehe)

Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto

I just came across it the other day on eMusic the recordings of Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.2. Well, I used to play it when I was working in the orchestra. It was one of the more popular concertos being performed. I enjoyed playing each time, with a different soloist, brings new inspiration of the piece, even though much of the time I was busy playing my own part, the music was not focused on the piano solo alone.

No.2 is almost like speaking to the subconscious, the deep melody.

For No.3, it is the hollow melody at the opening that gets me. A very simple melody, without much supporting harmony, hollow, and haunting, at the same time. Like nostalgia, like catching something that is fleeting and vague, good but no longer available, sweet and sad at the same time. I find myself listening to these 2 great pieces over and over again.

How to practice thirds

How do you learn to play thirds, as in double stops? Nobody really say anything about the "how". My teacher would just point to the scale book and say "practice, memorize, and play on the stage next week". Sure, we all need to practice. It would help to have a little more detailed steps, or strategy.
Here is mine. Do feel free to share yours in comments.
1. Identify the semitone from 1 pair of 3rds to the next. Mark it out on the music.
2. Feel the semitone in your fingers (touching fingertips).
3. Listen to the intonation, adjust if necessary (especially the whole tone movement, where fingertips are not touching).
Repeat the action again until the movement is fluid and accurate.
Double stop scales for ABRSM and Trinity exams, the 3rds at least, are printed in slurred pairs. So I suggest students to practice each pair until the movement is accurate and confident, before moving on to the next.

Repeating the whole process... that is called "practice". It takes time, and for students, this is a new skill requiring repetitions to gain familiarity. My "strategy" works for me. Anyone may find other strategy works, too. Always experiment around to find your best way to learn.

Listen to music

Recently a violin student told me that she does not like listening to music. I was very surprised by that. For someone to be interested in music enough to pick up violin and piano, and taken exams through to grade 6 and higher, to say that she does not like to listen to music, just play whatever she is learning.
It is like saying that a writer does not like reading. And I do no mean just "reading novels", but reading anything, including magazines and newspapers. Can a writer just pull everything from the "ether", from the "spirit", to write beautifully? How does the writer learn all the words, idioms, phrases, etc. without reading? Can a musician learn anything without listening to music? Just by listening to the teachers twice a week (one violin, one piano teacher)?
I do not about other writers, but I read a lot, even though I may not be reading high literature stuff. For music, I listen to a larger variety, too, though I prefer the Classical, Romantic, and Nationalistic music, and I also prefer orchestra music, for the rich and diverse tone qualities.
Even more so -- if I need to perform a particular piece of music, I listen to it all the time, and listen to different people's renditions.
So here is my advice to all music students -- listen to music, and not just those that you are currently learning (e.g. exam music). The more advanced your level of playing, the more variety of music you should listen to. Just like we sometimes re-read some books (novels included), we "re-listen" to some music, too, especially when it was performed live, because every performance brings to life what was originally written notes (dead). Even "re-listening" to recorded music could bring new inspirations, new discoveries. Even world famous violinists say that they attend others' performances, too, though they are no doubt very busy with their own already.

It's all in the mind-set

Today I had this discussion with a few students. One mentioned that if she played a piece by memory, she would not trip up and the usual spot, not when she reads the notes, a voice would say in her mind "this is where I trip up", and it happened... exactly like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

It got me thinking. Did I have such a voice? How did I get past all those tricky bits? Why did I pick the tough music to learn? There I have the answer. I pick some of the toughest music to learn simply because I have seen others do it, and I want to play those as well. I see those fancy moves techniques and I say "I want to be able to show off like them, too". Sure I come across those tricky bits, and sure I tripped out... but I never had the voice that says "here is where I trip up". If anything, the voice usually say "I'm going through this", and afterward, "YES I did it!".

In between practice, the music, the challenging part, would go through in my mind. At first I just let it "do it's thing", because it can be such a distraction especially when I need to do something else. Then I noticed something -- when the music flows through in my mind, it also "trip up" and exactly the places that I have difficulty. Well that does NOT make sense, does it? I mean, I was not even playing the violin, it's all in the mind! And it is doubly annoying to have an unwanted melody in the mind, plus the mistakes. I mean, at least I can have a nice and smooth tune, can't I? So I set about to deliberately direct the melody in my mind to be smooth and flowing, and erase the mistake. I did this out of spite, if nothing else, without realizing it is exactly the way to reprogram my brain. Of course any time I can have a "perfect version" just by listening to a recording, a CD. The difference is, when the melody flows through the mind, all the associated memories of fingers, shifts, bow movements are actually being "reprogrammed". e.g. If I keep running out of bow to do that slur, my mental action would show that I have plenty enough bow to do it, and that translates to the ability to actually do it on my next practice.

Bear in mind, though. This is not a short-cut. I don't just "reprogram" and it worked out perfectly the next day. I still need hours to practise. The difference is, I got the result I want, I can go show off that fancy move, and I don't have the voice that says "I'm going to trip up here".

Day dreaming does help, it seems. ;) Just don't do that 24/7.