In the spring of 2020, as the entire world shut down, I looked for comfort through the violin. For me, that meant the solo violin works of J.S. Bach. Of course, I wasn't alone in this! So many of …
Introducing “Bach on the Road”
Join me on Facebook Live for a road trip with good old Bach! We'll pretend that instead of burying his Six Sonatas and Partitas for 100 years, he instead took them on a world tour to try them out in …
To bounce or not to bounce? Spiccato off and on
Many years ago I asked a colleague, "how do you practice spiccato?" He answered, "Oh, I practice it off and on." I assumed that meant "now and then", so I asked, "OK, but how?" "I practice it …
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Etude videos for Mazas and DeBeriot
Sometimes I think that the LA Phil should ditch our audition list and just use the one from Texas All-State Orchestra! Year after year, the required pieces and etudes to get into Texas All-State …
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Fix violin intonation by walking the tightrope
Have you ever walked a tightrope? How about a balance beam? I tried one recently, and I'm pretty sure it was easier when I was a kid. When you watch circus performers, or champion gymnasts, though, …
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My famous Violin Trill Drill
It's time to take our trill preparation from the last video to the next level, with what I call "Trill Drill"! It's part of my daily warmup, and here I've spiced it up with a deck of interesting …