25 Tip to improve your skills to next level

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25 Player Tips to Take Your Skills to the Next Level
Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Itzhak Perlman, Nicola Benedetti, and others offer sage advice from
the ‘Strings’ archives
By Greg Cahill posted March 2012
Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Itzhak Perlman, Nicola Benedetti
Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Itzhak Perlman, Nicola Benedetti, and others offer sage advice from
the ‘Strings’ archives tell you how to . . .
1) . . . Get a Rich, Singing Tone
“I find tone is like someone’s voice, and like appearances, no two sounds are alike,”
says virtuoso violinist Jaime Laredo. So how do you go about improving your sound? Violinist
Ida Kavafian suggests that “warming up on long tones is a really good idea. Work on smooth
bow changes, loosening your fingers so that they can be responsive.”
Ultimately, the best source of inspiration may be your own voice, adds violinist Peter
Zazofsky. “People tend to sing better than they play because the bow is a foreign object, not a
natural part of you. You don’t want to be phrasing by the bow instead of by the music. You
want to play the way you sing—always go back to singing.”
Zazofsky points out, “I like really slow double-stops, fingered octaves, fourths, and fifths,
which stretch the left hand and let you hear the overtones really clearly. In the double-stops, I
aim to allow the instrument to ring as if I were playing on open strings. Also, you want a slow
bow with enough pressure to produce a big sound, right on the edge of becoming scratchy.”
—Sarah Freiberg
2) . . . Approach Vibrato
To play vibrato, says Phyllis Young (respected author, former president of the
American String Teachers Association, and professor of cello and string pedagogy at the
University of Texas at Austin), think of shaking dice or waving to a friend. There are several
helpful exercises you can employ when practicing vibrato. Young recommends that beginning
students enlist the help of their teachers for the
following exercise (or you can find another player to help you). Play a simple piece and think
of your fingertips as suction cups adhering to the strings while your teacher gently tugs on
your left elbow. While this playful tug-of-war is taking place, imagine a spring in each of your

joints—like a spring on a kitchen screen door—and allow your fingers to remain limber and to
spring back to their original position.
Young also cautions against thinking of your fingers as a homogeneous group. Instead, she
says, assign one of the fingers to be the chairman of the committee. “So if all four fingers are
on the fingerboard,” she adds, “the fourth finger is the designated spokesperson and carries all
the weight. If the third finger is making the pitch, then three, two, and one are all there but one
and two are just like little specks of dust.” —Greg Cahill
3) . . . Ace an Audition
The audition can be a big part of your life as a string player, whether you’re seeking a
seat in a youth symphony or applying to major in music performance at a college or
conservatory or trying to land that dream job in the big leagues. So get off to a strong start.
Accidents happen, and when one happens to you while you’re trying to impress the selection
panel it’s important that you don’t stop, says Cleveland Orchestra concertmaster William
Preucil (who coaches violinists on passing auditions); just keep going. To avoid a false start at
an audition, Preucil advises, mentally hum the first four bars in your head, loosen your knees
to relax, breathe, and begin.
—Lois Sabo-Skelton
4) . . . Think About the Big Picture
You see students in some of these big music schools who go through their entire tenure
without ever thinking about chamber music or orchestral excerpts, choosing instead to think
only about playing concertos and being a soloist. It’s always dangerous to offer advice because
you don’t want to tone down someone’s enthusiasm for that, but at the same time I’ve heard of
famous violinists going into a classroom and saying, “I’ll tell you right now that none of you
is ever going to make it as a soloist.” It may be drastic to say something like that, but it is
important to emphasize the need to learn as much as possible about playing in an orchestra and
playing chamber music.
—Joshua Bell
5) . . . Beat a Bouncing Bow
To beat a bouncing bow, a key lesson is to, well, learn to bounce your bow! To
appreciate the range of your bow’s balance and bounce, start by tapping the bow on a string.
Place the point of your bow on the lowest-pitched string of your instrument, then lift the bow a
little bit above the string and start tapping. Notice how much spring you feel as the bow
“wants to” rebound.

Continue tapping as you slowly move the contact point on the bow toward the frog. Note the
change in the bounce, and your need for increasingly more right-hand help as you go up bow
toward the frog. Try for as much control as possible as you maintain an even, regular tapping.
Keep the right hand free of unnecessary tension and the bow close to the string.
You can also try dropping the bow onto the string from a height of two to four inches, creating
a ricochet. Once you find the right height and location on the bow, start a very slow down bow
that encourages a small ricochet to continue. (The right hand must hold the bow delicately, and
the arm must move slowly so that traction causes the bounce to continue.)
—Tom Heimberg
6) . . . Find the Right Teacher
Reflect. What are your goals? What is your learning style? Would you prefer one-onone instruction, or might you and your limited disposable income be more comfortable in a
cheaper, group setting? What results can you realistically hope to achieve? Network. Many
aspiring students start their search by picking up the Yellow Pages. While that may be a fine
way to find a plumber, locating a music teacher should involve talking to people in the music
community. If you don’t already know musicians and music students, your local music stores
can help. Evaluate. Now it’s time to examine the basics, including credentials and affiliations.
Is a teacher a trained instructor, or simply a talented player? Is he or she a member of a
professional association, such as the American String Teachers Association? Does the teacher
specialize in a certain age range or level of playing ability? Interview. Any reputable instructor
should be willing to discuss his or her studio polices over the phone or in person. Stick with it.
No teacher, whatever his or her method or teaching ability, can give a beginning player quick
results.
—Patrick Sullivan
7) . . . Get an Edge in a Competition
First prize in the Tchaikovsky or Queen Elisabeth or International Violin Competition
of Indianapolis, the Olympics of violin competitions, sure would look impressive on your
resumé. But how do you make an impression with the judges? While the required repertoire
may be rigidly set, you may get a chance to present a piece of your choice. At one
competition, three of the six finalists played parts of the Sibelius Concerto and two played
parts of the Franck Sonata. Be prepared to play something special to avoid that kind of
duplication.
—G.C.

8) . . . Start a Practice Planner
Good practicing starts with good planning. And planning starts in the mind, but it need
not stay there. A written record of intentions and outcomes—of what succeeded and what
didn’t—can be a precious source of insight and self-guidance. Barry Green, author of the
enduringly useful book The Inner Game of Music (Doubleday Press, $21.95), has developed a
pocket-size Inner Game of Music Lesson Journal for his students. In one compact notebook,
there are places for listing the student’s long-, medium-, and short-term goals, plans for work,
and Inner Game–oriented questions about the pieces being prepared.
—T.H.
9) . . . Improve Your Tone
To understand tone production, Emlyn Ngai of the Hartt School of Music says, players
should learn a bit about the physics and physiology involved in playing a stringed instrument.
Applying the bow to the string, for instance, most players know that motion and weight
produce sound. But only uninhibited motion and a natural amount of weight—not pressure—
produce good tone. Once you grasp the physical aspects of playing, it’s time to think about
putting your warm-up sessions to better use.
In your search for your own great sound, it might be helpful to keep this thought from Ida
Kavafian in mind: “In terms of sound, your imagination is the most important component.
Keep an open mind and explore every possibility.
“A person’s imagination is his or her biggest asset.”
—S.F.
10) . . . Avoid Mindless Repetition
When it comes to learning notes efficiently, Philip Baldwin, assistant professor of violin
and viola at Eastern Washington University, advocates what he calls the “Zamboni Effect.”
Zamboni is the make of the machine that cleans the ice at a skating rink. “It eliminates all the
grooves,” Baldwin explains. “In music, the grooves are the mistakes or the miscoordinations
that we make when we play. By completely reorganizing the way the music is practiced, your
brain can learn in new ways; it’s not stuck in its old ruts.”
To achieve the Zamboni Effect, take a passage, eliminate the printed rhythm, and play the
notes one at a time. Then regroup the notes into odd divisions, and practice this for awhile.
—James Reel

11) . . . Turn Practice Time into real Quality Time
Sheer time is not necessarily good; what’s good is the quality of the practicing. If
somebody’s really serious, five hours a day is almost too much; no more than that. After five
hours, the body doesn’t absorb any more. When I was growing up I didn’t practice more than
three hours a day. And when you practice, it’s got to be 50-minute hours, with 10 minutes of
rest.
—Itzhak Perlman
12) . . . Add Magic to Your Playing
When performing, I definitely like to try to transcend thought. Some people call it
being “in the zone”; it’s this thing where I stop analyzing everything and just get really
connected to the music and sink deep into the beat. Things seem to move in slow motion and I
feel in that state that I can put my whole self into what I’m playing. I feel that the sneakiest elf
and goblin sounds are right at my fingertips and my whole imaginary land (of Snee) is singing
through me. Sometimes I get the chills, too.
These moments are rare, but they make all the work worth it, for me.
—Rushad Eggleston
13) . . . Master Spiccato
Find your bow’s bounce point, which is usually the balance point—the spot where the
bow hangs horizontally when you’re holding it from above, between your thumb and a finger.
It’s not in the middle of the bow, more like a third of the way from the frog. Remember that
spot; it’s where you’ll want to make contact with the string.
Start with your bow lightly on the string, right at the bounce point. Begin playing short
strokes, generated at the shoulder, with a relaxed forearm and hand. Next, focus on creating a
sweeping “U” figure with your right hand. This movement should not take your bow too far
off the string, but it should give it a little lift. The weight of the bow should be used to drive
the stroke and simply let gravity do its job. Gradually do this faster and faster, assistant
professor of viola and coordinator of string chamber-music studies at Ball State University’s
School of Music Philip Tietze says, until you get to the point where the bow is staying a little
closer to the string and you’re just easing into it.
If the setup is correct, especially in the right hand, he says, the bow will bounce by itself.
—J.R.

14) . . . Enhance Your Understanding of Repertoire
“It sounds simplistic, but the more you know, the better you sound,” St. Lawrence
String Quartet violinist Geoff Nuttall says. Study the composer’s life, his repertoire, know
where he was coming from, understand from what point-of-view he was writing. “It’s amazing
how many students come in to play a Mozart concerto and haven’t heard a Mozart opera,” he
says. Also, listen to as many recordings of a piece as you can and don’t be scared that the
exposure will ruin your chances of concocting an individualized interpretation of a piece. “It’s
incredibly illuminating to hear the vast array of interpretations. Listen to recordings,” Nuttall
says. “If you are not strong enough to make your own interpretations, you shouldn’t be doing
this. Study for one hour a day and practice for two.”
—Tiffany Apczynski
15) . . . Personalize Your Sound
Concert violinist and recording artist Nicola Benedetti practices “sound production and
tone more than anything else.” And while listening for “quirks of phrasing or style” is
important, she says, “it is not as important as listening to your sound. Because when you listen
to an instrumentalist, it’s impossible not to hear her personality shine through her sound, as if
she were speaking or singing to you. So, my priority, whenever I’m performing, recording, or
rehearsing, is not to be loud or superficially impressive, but to produce the sound that my
voice would make if I could speak or sing the notes.”
—Laurence Vittes
16) . . . Improve Your Intonation
Intonation work is most effective when it is part of a daily regimen. This regimen is
individual, but needs to contain three elements: objective self-criticism to identify the
problems, determining the reasons for the problems (by asking specific questions), and
practicing that’s designed to permanently fix problems. Unlike scales, arpeggios, and slow
practicing, which work on several aspects of playing, an intonation regimen focuses only on
intonation. According to neuroscientists studying motor skills, if you work on several skills
simultaneously, you do not retain what you learned as well as if you focus on one skill at a
time. So, focusing solely on intonation during part of your daily practice is the best way to
improve it.
—Rebecca Cole

17) . . . Supercharge Your Passion for Playing
“If you’re not doing music for the right reasons . . . you will have a miserable life,”
says Geoff Nuttall, violinist with the St. Lawrence String Quartet. Nuttall says players need to
be playing because it impassions them and because they are inspired by a deep love for the
music, not money or fame.
“You have to be passionate about it or you will fail,” he says.
Pushy parents or career pressure can sometimes get in the way of this goal and may foist their
own goals on to children, willing them to become great virtuosos instead of music lovers,
Nuttall says. “The minute you start practicing because you think you are going to be famous,
or win a competition, or be better than your friends, it can raise bitterness,” he says.
Quoting renowned pedagogue Eugene Lehner, who played violin in the Boston Symphony and
coached the Juilliard String Quartet, Nuttall advises, “Play like a really enthusiastic amateur.”
—T.A.
18) . . . Find a Receptive Ear
“I’ve been to many schools [as part of a music outreach program],” Nicola Benedetti
says, “and sometimes it’s a more exciting experience when the class is of non-music students.
I’ll never forget one school where there was hardly any music education. I was warned that the
16-year-olds I would be talking to and playing for might not be receptive. Instead, the silence
when I played showed me how deeply the music made them feel, because their ears were 100
percent open.”
—L.V.
19) . . . Balance Your Inner Critic
Self-criticize with confidence. Striking a balance between criticism and confidence is
essential to being a successful player. Players need to be able to know what they’ve done well
and praise themselves for those successes, while never losing sight of where they might
improve. “Without self-criticism it’s hard to improve, but without self-confidence it’s difficult
to function,” Geoff Nuttall says. Don’t beat yourself up for every missed note or chord, but
don’t gloat for days on end when something goes right.
—T.A.
20) . . . Get the Most Out of a String Education
I’m a big believer in learning from lots of people. The student/teacher relationship is a
touchy one—almost sacred. Teachers are so protective of their students that the student can go
through ten years or more learning from just one person. I don’t think that’s a good idea. My

teacher, Josef Gingold, always encouraged me to play for other people. There was a great
student of his, and of Heifetz’s, who is now a teacher at the University of California at Santa
Barbara but who used to teach at IU, his name is Yuval Yaron, and Gingold wanted me to
play for him. He wanted me play for several others, including Heifetz, though that never
happened. But I think that’s really important in order to broaden your skills.
—Joshua Bell
21) . . . Deepen Your Knowledge Base
My first teacher, Mrs. [Klara] Berkovich, loved art and showed me books and postcards
of pieces from the Hermitage and made me visit art museums. My next teacher, Mr. [Jascha]
Brodsky, was always reading—books about music and many other things—and that made me
want to read, too. It’s important to explore all the arts and literature—they’re all integrated,
and reading broadly and being familiar with other arts is a way of integrating your music with
the world around you.
—Hilary Hahn
22) . . . Make a Successful Transition into a Youth Orchestra
Have a good attitude no matter where you are seated. Sure it’s fun to sit in the front,
but contrary to popular belief it is really fun to sit in the back, too. In the back you are
surrounded by people playing other parts—percussionists behind you, brass players to your
left, winds in front of you. From this vantage point you get the clearest view of the composer’s
ideas and intentions. It’s wonderful to see and hear how the parts fit together and support each
other. But it requires even more concentration to stay with the section and especially the
conductor.
—Mimi Rabson
23) . . . Roll with a Rock Band
One of the main challenges you may face with this sort of gig is mere communication.
Working with rock musicians can be a frustrating and time-consuming process if you aren’t
prepared to speak the “language” of non-classically trained pop and rock musicians. In most
instances, you won’t be provided with the luxury of arranged and notated parts to play, and the
artist or band will have to adequately communicate what they want. You can expect that they
won’t know the difference between pizzicato, tremolo, and G# minor, so avoid using technical
musical terms if you can.

The best way to communicate is by demonstrating. Know where the verses, choruses, and
bridges are for all of the tunes that you’re playing, and try to memorize your parts. No one
else will be using a music stand. Should you?
—Robert Anderson
24) . . . Find Repertoire That Lets You Shine
Ask yourself, what are you preparing the piece for? For example, are you auditioning
for an orchestra or entering a competition? Jane Starkman, a violin teacher, suggests that you
have pieces in your repertoire that will satisfy the requirements of the various musical
institutions for which you might be auditioning. Some of these groups list suggested repertoire,
she adds. For ideas, check preparatory school audition suggestions as well as local youth
symphonies or district-orchestra audition lists.
It’s probably best to play a piece that is challenging enough but still easily within your grasp.
If it’s a really difficult composition, you might want to work on it, but not perform it right
away.
—S.F.
25) . . . Prepare for a Fiddle Contest
Most contests are judged by professional musicians and have similar judging criteria:
common categories include rhythm, clarity, level of difficulty, creativity, and intonation.
Rhythm deals not only with making sure the contestant stays in time, but also with how much
drive the performance has. Clarity deals with the how clean the performance is. Muffled notes,
squeaks, and unclean string crossings will cause a deduction in points. Level of difficulty is
exactly that: how hard is the piece? The more difficult the arrangement, the more points
awarded. Creativity deals with the musical quality of the arrangement. How original is the
piece? Does it sound like everyone else’s, or is it unique? Intonation deals with how well the
contestant is playing in tune. Dissonance will result in a loss of points.
As far as the actual festival itself, the atmosphere is fun and relaxed. Although most fiddle
contests award money prizes, the majority of contestants are there just to have fun. Contests
are also a great place to improve your musicianship. Bad sportsmanship is generally not a
problem. People will be all around, jamming and swapping tunes or arrangements.
—John Boulware

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