November 2015

How to Release the Tension in your Neck when Playing the Violin? | Violin & Viola TV #210

November 30, 2015 03:34

My Violin & Viola Academy student Susan has pain in her neck while playing the violin. She writes...

Hi Zlata,
I am working on the Weight vs Pressure thing but I can’t get rid of the tension in my neck etc. I also adjusted my chin- and shoulder rests and it feels a bit more comfortable.
Thank you so much for your kind attention whenever possible.
Susan

Some people spend fortunes and a lot of time and frustration on trying out new chinrests and shoulder rests. The important thing to realize here is that it's not all in the material. No shoulder rest or chinrest can compensate a bad hold or balance.

People tend to think 'I know how to hold my violin', but there is always some improvement to make.

The trick is to find balance between your left hand and collar bone. The weight of the violin should be distributed around 50/50 on your collar bone and left hand.

It's a common misconception that you should squeeze the violin between your shoulder and chin. Certainly with the viola, being longer and bigger, this can cause quite some injury.

Lots of people, me too, use the expression 'put your violin on your shoulder'. Actually it's best to have your violin rest on your collar bone instead of your shoulder. This is another common misconception about violin hold. The pictures you find in books are often exaggerated to prevent children from holding the violin too much down (with the scroll pointing to the floor).

In a comfortable balanced violin hold, the endpin points to the middle of your throat. Your violin rests on your collar bone and in your left hand (this even improves intonation). Your chin doesn't have to squeeze the violin, but just prevents the violin from wobbling while bowing.

By implementing these tips and relaxing your neck and chin, you can play comfortably for hours a day. Search for a hold that is good for you and doesn't activate your neck too much.

Is this video helpful to you? Please let me know in the comments below! If you like it, share it with your friends!

Love,

Zlata

PS: Do you have questions or struggles on violin or viola playing? Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@violinlounge.com and I might dedicate a Violin & Viola TV episode to answering your question!

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How to Watch Violin & Viola TV and Improve your Violin or Viola Playing | Violin & Viola TV #209

November 23, 2015 03:11

After over 200 episodes of Violin & Viola TV, you might wonder how to find the exact video lesson you are looking for to improve your violin and viola playing. Viewer Simon writes...

Hi Zlata,
I have received Emails from violinlounge.com. Thanks! Now I have a suggestion other than violin itself.
I don't have a lot of time to go through the web site violinlounge.com. I hope you put a teaching video about "How to use the violinlounge.com". This does not mean I am not used to computer or Internet (BTW, I am a computer programmer.). (For example, I find http://violinlounge.com/learn-vibrato/ When I practice vibrato.). I just have no time to search and find out how it is arranged. So I hope you, not as violin teacher or IT stuff but as an editor, give a tutorial video to those who has already subscribed.
My suggestion may not be a good one. Anyway I just hope so. Thanks!
Simon

In this episode I will hold your hand and guide you through my 200+ free video lessons on my website. I hope you can find what you need quickly and spend your time watching my video lessons as effective as possible.

If you are looking for a specific subject, you can use the search function on the top right.

There are some lesson buckets with several videos on one subject:

Bow Like a Pro

Improve Your Tone

Learn Vibrato

Maintain Your Violin or Viola

Start to Play

In the right side bar there is a tag cloud with some keywords that lead you to videos on that subject.

There is also an in depth FREE workshop 'Weight vs Pressure', which is useful to violin and viola players on all levels. It helps you create a beautiful tone and play comfortably. If you subscribe to this workshop, you will also receive a weekly e-mail with the most recent video lesson.

The Violin & Viola TV episodes are useful to over 500 viewers a day. The can really help you to improve your violin and viola playing. They are small video lessons on very specific subjects that can help you with something you struggle with.

However... if you really want to build up a solid basic technique, bowing technique, tone production, vibrato and/or intonation... if you really want to know what to do exactly when, how to practice, what to do if something goes wrong... if you want to become my student and enjoy an in depth step-by-step curriculum, the Violin & Viola Academy will help you further. In the video I'll shortly show you what's in the academy and what's the difference with Violin & Viola TV.

I hope, with the help of this video, you can find exactly what you need: the right video on the right time.

Enjoy my work! I'm always open to suggestions!

Is this video helpful to you? Please let me know in the comments below! If you like it, share it with your friends!

Love,

Zlata

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About Rosin | Violin & Viola TV #208

November 17, 2015 08:42

This episode is all about rosin!

Without rosin your bow doesn’t make a sound, as the horse hair will silently slide over the string. Rosin is an important detail of your violin or viola playing.

How to rosin your violin or viola bow?

If you rosin too little, the response of your violin will not be good and some parts of the bow won’t make a sound. If you rosin too much, you will stand in a cloud of rosin and your violin will sound scratchy.

People tend to rosin the bow mainly and the tip and the frog, but as you use the middle of the bow more, you should rosin the middle of the bow most.

Click here to my dedicated video about how to rosin your bow. In this week’s video I will just show it shortly.

Remove rosin from the soundboard and the strings.

Use a microfibre cloth to remove rosin remains from your strings and violin or viola. This can make a squeaking sound. In this video I will show you exactly how to do this.

If you leave the rosin there, it will become sticky and hard to remove. Your strings sound better when you clean them and the varnish of your violin is better maintained when you remove the rosin.

Replace your rosin once a year.

Yes, rosin can get old and hard. Replacing your rosin once a year is a rule of thumb. However, if you are still very happy with your rosin, you can use it longer.

What rosin do I use?

For those interested... I personally use Petz Vienna’s Best rosin (click here to buy it). It sounds good, is fine and doesn’t give much dust. Of course there are many good types of rosin. Just experiment what works best for you.

Is this video helpful to you? Please let me know in the comments below! If you like it, share it with your friends!

Love,

Zlata

2 replies

How to Play Air from Suite in D by Bach | Violin & Viola TV #207

November 10, 2015 01:35

As requested by a Violin & Viola TV viewer I'm making this video.

Robyn asks:

I would like to play Bach’s Air, but I have problems with the timing. Are there any hints you can give? I may have sheet music that is too difficult.

In this video I'm going to teach you how to play this piece.

You can learn the rhythm by feeling the pulse of the piece on the eighth notes and by writing 'count lines' into your sheet music.

In the video I play the piece and stop to explain how to play it.

Click here to download your sheet music.

Is this video helpful to you? Please let me know in the comments below! If you like it, share it with your friends!

Love,

Zlata

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How Long Should You Practice the Violin or Viola?

November 3, 2015 03:29

This video is about how much and how long one should practice the violin or viola.

As you might know, it takes 10.000 hours to master something, but I don’t know if that’s what you want with the violin.

When you are a beginner and you practice for two chunks of 15 minutes a day, you’re ok and can get improvement. You can expand your practice time from there as long as you are still concentrated and your body feels good. Always keep in mind that your practice should be of good quality. Don’t just make a lot of hours. But yes, you need to put in quite some hours to learn to play the violin well.

It’s better to practice daily, even if it’s just for a couple of minutes, than to practice very long once a week.

To spend your 10.000 hours as effective as possible, I share with you 4 tips:

Practice smart. Don’t just play through pieces, but think about what exactly you want to improve and focus on that.

Practice in chunks. It’s most effective to practice in chunks of 10 to 20 minutes. (I don’t have the discipline to do this myself... I just get a big mug of coffee and play for three hours or more straight... proved to be not the best way)

Practice with a goal. Try to be thoughtful about what results you want to get from practicing.

Have a package of repertoire. On your music stand you should have some pieces and exercises that are thoughtfully put together: some scales, some etudes, some pieces of different levels (below, on and above your current playing level) and perhaps some orchestra scores.

Of course you don’t have to spend 10.000... with less hours you can certainly play beautiful things with nice people and have a lot of fun with your violin. It all depends on what your goal is and what you want to ‘sacrifice’ to achieve your goal and what’s possible in your life.

Sorry I can’t give you a straight answer on how much to practice exactly, but I hope I have provided some insight on how to practice and how long.

Is this video helpful to you? Please let me know in the comments below! If you like it, share it with your friends!

Love,

Zlata

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More entries: October 2015