July 2013

Will you neglect or BOOST your violin play this summer?

July 30, 2013 05:33

When you stop practicing and taking violin lessons in the summer, your violin playing level will very likely go down...

When you use the extra time that is on your hands in the summer to take violin lessons and to practice more, you BOOST your violin play in the summer!!!

Watch this video to see me explain this principle with self made cartoons and to see me really make a fool of myself... ;)

Would you like to have some extra violin lessons this summer?

Is your teacher on holiday or don’t you have a teacher?

I can help you with giving your violin play a BOOST this summer.

Your teacher and friends will be amazed!

Would you like to have some Skype violin lessons with me... or just one?

Click here for more information!

Love,

Zlata
Violinist and Skype violin teacher at Violin Lounge

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

2 replies

Is it too late to start playing violin?

July 27, 2013 03:20

“Hi!

I had much free time recently and I've decided to fill that time with a new hobby and the decision for me was quite simple - violin :) I've set everything up so I will start learning in upcomming weeks.

What should I know and on what should I focus while learning playing violin?

What should I learn?

I am 23 years old isn't it too late? I've made the decision anyway but other visitors of your channel probably ask themselves this question.”

Can you start playing the violin as an adult?

Where should you start and what should you focus on?

Watch this video to hear my answer to this question lots of people ask themselves...

Love,

Zlata
Violinist and Skype violin teacher at Violin Lounge

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

4 replies

How to keep your 2nd finger low when you play a 4th finger

July 26, 2013 13:05

"(…) Do you have any advice on how to keep my 2nd finger from moving out of the C natural position while playing the E note on the A string? I have noticed this problem lately as I have been trying to play a song in G major called "Turkey in the Straw""

Watch this video to understand the causes and receive 4 tips to keep your 2nd finger low when you play a 4th finger!

Causes:

The high 2nd finger seems more natural for your hand.

The high 2nd finger is the first you learn, not the low 2nd finger.

The distance between de low 2nd and 4th finger is quite far.

Solutions:

Tip 1: Check your violin hold. Prevent that your 4th finger has to cross a distance that is not useful. Pivot your arm a bit more and give your 4th finger space. Have your knuckles parallel to the fingerboard. Make your 4th finger round.

Tip 2: Push your 2nd finger against your first finger. Feel the two fingers touching each other.

Tip 3: Practice the low 2nd finger in combination with the 4th finger with melodic variations in scales and songs.

Tip 4: Practice the low 2nd finger in combination with the 4th finger with rhythmical and bowing variations in scales and songs.
Thank you for watching Violin Lounge TV!

Love,

Zlata
Violinist and Skype violin teacher at Violin Lounge

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 Smoothly Switch between Strings with your Violin Bow?

July 20, 2013 01:36

“Since I just found you yesterday, I don't know if you've covered this "problem" for me a beginner...
My question is about bowing: When I practice scales or a song and I switch from G, D, A or E , I wind up with sounds I believe sound like a double stop.
It happens most on the D and A string.
How do I conquer this, aside from much practice...?
Is there a way of holding my arm (elbow) when switching between strings?
Thank you so much...”

Here is how to smoothly switch between strings with your violin bow...

First you need to know the basics about bowing and switching strings.

You bow with your lower arm. It's like opening a door. Remember... no fighting! ;)

You switch strings with your upper arm... chicken tonight! :D

You don't bow and switch at the same time, because you will hear double stops. It means that you bow on two strings at the same time and you will hear both strings at the same time.

The two movements (bowing and switching) are separate movements. Lots of beginners use their lower AND upper arm with bowing as well as string switching.

TIP: Separate these movements... not in a rigid stiff way, but in a relaxed fluent way.

TIP: Challenge yourself to make the string switch movement as small as possible and be surprised how small the motion can be. You don't need much motion to switch strings.

Why are A and D most difficult? They are between other strings. On the G and E string you have much more space to be sloppy ;).

Make your string switch as small as possible... you will be surprised how small the motion is!

TIP: Prepare with your bow to the direction of your string switch. This makes your string switch even smaller and more subtle.

Assignment

You can't do something fast if you can't do it slow. Practice with stops at a string switch.

Bow... Stop... String switch... Stop... Bow etc

You can do this in a scale, in a song or in a free improvisation. You need to pick something easy, maybe just open strings. You need to be able to focus on the string switch and not be distracted be a difficult piece.

If it goes very well... try to make the stops smaller and smaller and smaller... until there is no hearable stop anymore.

Don't expect results in just one day... making your string switches smooth can take some time.

Please let me know if this helps you and share your experiences in the comments below.

Thank you for watching Violin Lounge TV!

Love,

Zlata
Violinist and Skype violin teacher at Violin Lounge

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

4 replies

15 Tips to Stop your Shoulder Rest from Slipping

July 19, 2013 09:45

Question: “Hi Zlata, I have got a question as a violin teacher!

Why do Kun and Wolf shoulder rests fall off the violin so often?

Which tip could I give my students to solve this problem lots of violinists have?

Love, Suzanne”

Answer: I would love to help you end this frustration for you and your students.

I will not give you 1 tip, but 15 tips to stop your shoulder rest from slipping off your violin!

Grab a pen and a piece of paper... here they come!

Check if the rubber of the feet isn’t dried out... replace the rubber by new ones, don’t replace your entire shoulder rest!

Check if the feet are not bent to the outside, so they don’t hold the violin or viola... the feet should be bent a little to the inside.

Try different kinds of feet in shoulder rests, for example a Menuhin rest that holds the violin in a different way.

Check the rubber band that prevents the feet from turning on a Wolf rest.

Check the parallelity of the feet.

Put a rubber band around the foot and corner of the violin to avoid on side of the shoulder rest from slipping.

Try different shoulder rests before buying one and see which meets your specific needs.

Don’t buy a shoulder rest online if you don’t know for sure wich one is best for you and (the rim of!) your violin or viola.

Put the shoulder rest firmly on the violin or viola by sliding it down a little.

Adjust the shoulder rest in a proper way, so it doesn’t press itself off your violin in a strange corner.

Check if your shoulder rest is not too wide and falls off. Make sure to buy a shoulder rest that you can adjust as narrow as necessary.

Check the combination with your chin rest. Not all problems can be solved by just the shoulder rest. Your chin rest needs fit perfectly as well.

Have a relaxed violin hold with rest that fits well. Don’t play with too much tension, which causes a lot of pressure on the shoulder rest and forces it off the violin.

Make or adjust a shoulder rest yourself or have it made by an expert if the standard shoulder rests don’t meet your needs.

There are alternatives for shoulder rests: for example a shoulder pad (bought or self made) or nothing at all.

Please apply all of them and let me know if it works!

Do you have more tips to stop your shoulder rest for slipping? Please don't keep them for yourself, but share them with other violinists and violists in the comments below!

Thank you for watching Violin Lounge TV!

Love,

Zlata
Violinist and violin teacher at Violin Lounge

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

8 replies

How often should you tune your violin?

July 13, 2013 07:40

A good violinist can play in tune on an untuned violin...

Tune your violin every time your practice... but don't be to rigid about playing on an untuned violin.

If you are performing, you can't tune your violin every 5 minutes. Your intonation should be flexible and your practice hours should prepare you on performance.

Please let me know what you think in the comments below!

Love,

Zlata
Violinist and Skype violin teacher at Violin Lounge

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

9 replies

Should you untune your violin after practicing?

July 12, 2013 07:02

Question: "Hi guys.
My name is Ivan and I just resently started playing the violin.
Now, I know how to use the bow and so far I'm getting good at it. But my question is, should I untune the violin right after I'm done using it?
Thanks."

If you loosen your bow, should you also loosen the strings of your violin?

Answer: Nope!

Please don't untune your violin. It is better for your instrument, for your strings and save you a lot of work!

What I forgot to mention in this video...

The lifetime of strings will be longer if you take care that the tension on the strings doesn't change too much. Change of tension will ruin your strings. Keep your violin tuned!

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

Love,

Zlata
Violinist and Skype violin teacher at Violin Lounge

Archive link

3 Tips to improve your tone as a beginning violinist or violist

July 8, 2013 04:32

Question: "Hello Zlata. My name is Wendy. I've been playing violin for 19 months. Now I'm kind of lost because I don't know what should I practice to improve the tone. If you have time to take a look at my video and give me some advices I'll be really appreciated. Thank you!"

Answer: In this video I will give 3 tips on tone improvement for beginning violinists and violists. I will handle the mistakes that most beginners make on tone creation.

Tip 1: Bow straight! The sound of the violin is different depending on the place of the bow on the string. Going from one place to another on the string while bowing gives a sound you don't want. You can't see if you're bowing straight, so practice in the mirror and correct yourself.

Tip 2: Bow in the string, not over the string. Do this with the weight of the arm, not pressure. Pressure will kill the tone while you are creating it. Weight will create a nice rich singing tone.

Tip 3: Have a relaxed bow hold. Although the bow hold can seem very unnatural in the beginning, try to relax your fingers (gummy bears!). A bow hold is something in motion, not something rigid. The motion in your fingers should come from your under arm. Your fingers move along with the bow, your bow doesn't move along with your fingers.

Thank you for watching Violin Lounge TV!

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

Love,

Zlata
Violinist and Skype violin teacher at Violin Lounge

Archive link