November 2013

What To Do When Your Left Thumb Hurts When Playing Violin or Viola?

November 29, 2013 02:09

Harold asks:

My left thumb hurts after playing. Especially with the viola. What should I do? I've been playing violin for almost 2 years and viola for six months.

In this video I will share 4 tips to solve this issue and play without pain:

1) Check the size of your viola
2) Do my FREE workshop Weight vs Pressure, click here to subscribe
3) Check the place of your thumb
4) Check tension in your thumb and if your thumb is doing to much

Is this video useful to you? Please let me know in the comments!

Love,

Zlata

PS: Do you have questions for me on violin or viola playing? Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@violinlounge.com

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Should You Use a Narrow or Wide Vibrato on the Violin or Viola?

November 27, 2013 03:30

Lam asks:

I have seen many soloists like Silvia Marcovici who has a wide vibrato and Hilary Hahn who has a much narrower vibrato. Please make a video on whether to have a wide or narrow vibrato.

Why do you see different kinds of vibrato with different violinists and different pieces?

When to use what kind of vibrato? Narrow, wide, fast, slow?

How to train yourself to be able to do all these types of vibrato and apply them exactly on the right moment?

Watch this video and I will give you some tips and exercises.

Click here to see more video’s I made on vibrato!

Is this video useful to you? Please let me know in the comments!

Love,

Zlata

PS: Do you have questions for me on violin or viola playing? Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@violinlounge.com

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Do You Play with the Right Part of Your Violin or Viola Bow?

November 25, 2013 08:02

Jeremias asks:

I saw your video on selecting bows and it got me thinking. My music teacher always says that when I'm playing I'm playing in the wrong part of the bow. I play my violin on the top half of my bow most of the time subconsciously but when the style of the music demands it I play with the rest. I still use my entire bow for dynamics even though it tends to lean on the upper half. Is it ok to continue or should I put more effort into changing my bowing style? (I don't know if this is relevant but I think it might be because I have a younger teacher that plays the cello)

First of all: there is no right or wrong part of the bow!

Watch this video in which I talk about when to bow with which part of the bow.

Do you choose the part of your bow based on the lack of bowing technique or on what the music demands? How to distinguish this?

Is this video useful to you? Please let me know in the comments!

Love,

Zlata

PS: Do you have questions for me on violin or viola playing? Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@violinlounge.com

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How to Lose Your Fear of the Frightful Frog

November 22, 2013 06:32

Let's talk about a phobia lots of violin and viola players suffer from...

... the Fear of the Frightful Frog! (woooo)

How to lose your fear of the frog, play smoothly at the frog and discover all the sound colors your whole (!) bow can produce.

In this video I will share with you three exercises you can do to play better at the frog.

Is this video useful to you? Please let me know in the comments!

Love,

Zlata

PS: Do you have questions for me on violin or viola playing? Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@violinlounge.com

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Is Your Body Suitable for Playing the Violin or Viola? Find Out!

November 20, 2013 06:18

Marcus asks:

Is there any physical attributes or lack of certain physical attributes that might make violin playing more difficult to learn?
For example is having longer slender fingers a benefit and having shorter thicker fingers a detriment? And lastly what is the degree of wrist rotation needed to hold the neck of the violin?

In this video we talk about the doubt lots of (soon to be) beginner violinists and violists have.

We talk about:

comparing soloists with each other

if are you lean enough

your fine motoric skills

rotation of your wrist

length of your fingers

thickness of your fingers

shape of your hands

After watching this video you probably will have an idea about your suitability for playing the violin or viola.

The answer might positively surprise you!

Is this video useful to you? Please let me know in the comments!

Love,

Zlata

PS: Do you have questions for me on violin or viola playing? Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@violinlounge.com

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How Important is the Quality of Your Violin or Viola Bow

November 18, 2013 08:21

Did you know that finding your ideal bow is even more difficult than finding your ideal violin or viola?

How important is it to have your ideal bow?

With your ideal bow you can achieve more musically and technically.

The more your playing improves, the more you will demand from your bow.

What are the costs of a bow that matches your violin or viola?

What does the price of a bow consist of?

playing value

antique value

emotional value

I will explain everything about the importance of selecting an ideal bow in the video.

Is this video useful to you? Please let me know in the comments!

Love,

Zlata

PS: Do you have questions for me on violin or viola playing? Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@violinlounge.com

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How to Hold Your Violin or Viola in a Comfortable and Relaxed Way?

November 15, 2013 04:27

How to hold your violin or viola?

I will explain this to you in this video and will give you a step-by-step way to build your own violin or viola hold.

In this way you will be so comfortable with your violin under your chin that you might want to go shopping with your violin ;).

Is this video useful to you? Please let me know in the comments!

Love,

Zlata

PS: Do you have questions for me on violin or viola playing? Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@violinlounge.com

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How to Hold Your Violin or Viola Bow?

November 13, 2013 10:51

How to hold your violin or viola bow?

I will explain this to you in this video and will give you a step-by-step way to build your own great relaxed and flexible bow hold with which you can make a beautiful tone on your violin or viola.

Also I will give you two exercises to make your bow hold flexible instead of rigid.

Is this video useful to you? Please let me know in the comments!

Love,

Zlata

PS: Do you have questions for me on violin or viola playing? Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@violinlounge.com

1 reply

Get More Out of Your Violin Playing (book review)

November 12, 2013 07:40

Is all your motivation and self esteem down the drain when your teacher puts a giant scale book (like Carl Flesch's, which is very good and helpful, but big) on your music stand?

How can you improve your technique without feeling overwhelmed by complex books?

In this video I will give you a peek into the book 'Get more out of your violin playing' by Daniël Otten. See if it's something for you.

Click here to order the book.

Is this video useful to you? Please let me know in the comments!

Love,

Zlata

PS: Do you have questions for me on violin or viola playing? Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@violinlounge.com

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What Items Should You Have in Your Violin or Viola Case?

November 8, 2013 04:50

Take a look in Zlata's case...

What items are essential for every violinist or violist?

What items should everybody have in the violin or viola case?

I will give you a sneak peek in my own personal violin case and show you what I carry around to rehearsals, lessons and performances.

Is this video useful to you? Please let me know in the comments!

Love,

Zlata

PS: Do you have questions for me on violin or viola playing? Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@violinlounge.com

3 replies

What To Do if You are Practicing Hard, but Your Playing Only (seems to) Get Worse?

November 6, 2013 12:45

How frustrating is it when you are practicing the violin or viola very hard... but the results are not there... even worse: your violin or viola playing seems to get worse.

How is this possible? Practicing makes perfect, doesn't it?

What to do about this issue lots of violinists and violists struggle with?

I will give you some explanations, pep tak AND solutions in this video. Watch it!

Is this video useful to you? Please let me know in the comments!

Love,

Zlata

PS: Do you have questions for me on violin or viola playing? Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@violinlounge.com

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How Much Muscle Power to Use in Violin or Viola Playing?

November 4, 2013 08:11

Do you have to be physically well trained to play the violin or viola?

Violin or viola playing (and especially violin) is learning to do less instead of to do more.

Lots of people tend to do more if the violin or viola is not doing what they want. This can work against them in many cases.

How can you play effortless? How much muscle power should you use?

Is this video useful to you? Please let me know in the comments!

Love,

Zlata

PS: Do you have questions for me on violin or viola playing? Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@violinlounge.com

3 replies

How (and WHY?) to Tune Your Violin with a Tuning Fork?

November 1, 2013 12:42

Would you like to tune your violin with a tuning fork?

Why would you tune your violin in such an 'old fashioned' way anyway... while there are tuning devices and tuner apps available?

In this video I will show you how to tune your violin with a 'A' tuning fork and I will explain why it's such a great exercise for intonation, violin hold, ear training, double stops, bowing, multitasking and more.