We know we can't stop to fix mistakes during a performance, so why don't we ever seem to spend time in the practice room practicing how to recover? In this episode, host Laurel Thomsen shares why "recovery practice" might be the missing factor ...

Beginning students, but even the more advanced among us, often struggle with pitch (intonation) and tone. Troubleshooting sounds we'd like to improve can be especially frustrating when we're having a hard time differentiating between the two. One is ...

When I upgraded to a new phone few years ago, every Sunday morning it started popping up with a weekly usage report, detailing the apps I'd spent the most time on. I quickly saw I was spending way too much time on social media! Granted, I was touring ...

While subdividing can always present challenges, both mentally as well as physically in our playing, encountering large and/or irregular note divisions in our pieces can be particularly daunting.

For example, consider the final phrases of Jenö ...

Scientists believe that amusia, or "tone-deafness," effects only about 4% of the population, yet unfortunately, a lack of early exposure and training in music can lead many to assume that they must be tone-deaf if they can't sing in tune ...

If the metronome inspires fear, dread, or frustration in you, if you're not sure how to even use it, or if you find practicing with it is getting a bit stale, this Violin Geek Podcast episode is for you! Join me as we explore the goals of metronome ...

Intonation has been a hot topic for the blog and in the lessons studio lately. Besides the challenge of getting a pure tone on a violin, viola, cello, or bass, it’s hard to cover up a note that’s just not in tune. In my recent post Improve Your Intonation ...

This seems to be the topic in my lessons studio lately. Especially as the Covid-19 pandemic wears on, the days and weeks seem to run together and many of us are looking to create some memorable success. With many other aspects of life sidelined, ...

If you use a tuner or tuning app, you might have wondered why there are often little numbers next to the letters. Maybe you’re seeing something like G3, F#4, or A5?

There are several octaves the human ear can register yet we only use 7 letter ...

Each time you practice your instrument you deepen your knowledge and ability, but also risk perpetuating bad habits. Whether you’re a beginner or a more advanced player, keeping in mind a basic checklist of foundational actions and skills can help ...

Beginning and intermediate students often worry that they’ll never be able to play their songs, scales, or etudes as well as the recordings they hear, their teacher, or people they see playing on YouTube. And if not, does it mean they should play the ...

With the COVID-19 shutdowns and for many of us, more time to practice our musical instruments, it’s important to avoid mental burnout and physical injury by keeping our expectations in check. I’ve had some students, excited to see the progress they ...

I’ve written a number of posts over the years discussing effective ways to practice and ideas for helping create better practice habits or reinvigorate a practice routine. With my students, I prefer to focus on the quality of practice over stressing ...

Periods of overwhelm are common at any stage of learning to play the violin, viola, cello, fiddle, or any instrument for that matter. The technical aspects of any instrument, but especially violin family instruments, can be unforgiving, yet we all ...

I laughed when a colleague once told me: “It's all fun and games until someone gets a gig.” Whether it’s music you’ve enjoyed playing casually with friends, or an instrument or piece that hasn’t yet seen more than your practice room and maybe your ...

No matter our playing level or age, clean playing and fast playing are often at odds. Over my years of teaching the violin and viola, I’ve noticed that students tend to fall into two camps - those who try to play near tempo from the start, often with ...

Performers and athletes often talk of being “in the zone.” Some might describe it as being in a place where they loose themselves in the activity or music and it appears as though it is happening all by itself, smoothly and automatically. Some might ...

Yet again a new school year is in full swing and with practice questions floating around my studio, I thought I’d take some time to add on to a blog post I wrote about the topic last year. If you’ve read that post you’ll notice that some sections are ...

I received this message from a fellow string teacher recently. It’s the BIG question isn’t it!?

In my experience, it’s worth taking some time to ask questions about the student’s day to day schedule and practice set-up at home. Sometimes it’s ...

It’s September again and with an influx of new violin, viola, and fiddle students as well as many longterm students getting back into the swing of lessons after vacations and time off over the summer, there’s been a lot of talk about practice lately ...

A student’s first lessons with a new private music teacher are usually a mixture of excitement and possibility, nerves, and often a bit of overwhelm. Over the course of a few lessons, a perceptive teacher will identify certain areas of technique, posture, ...

If you feel like your music practice has you going in circles, in this Violin Geek Podcast series we cover several tips that can help you improve your practice and performance, including the importance of taking care with phrase endings, ideas for ...

Ok, we did the HOW. Now it's WHAT should you practice? In this episode Laurel Thomsen offers a range of elements you might need to add to your practice ...

In this episode of the Violin Geek Podcast I share tips on how to practice for maximum efficiency and effectiveness. From building technique to polishing repertoire and preparing for performance, make sure you're covering all your bases and setting ...

Every day we are offered choices. This food or that food. This activity or that activity. Every thing we decide to fill our time with means that we are choosing not to fill that time with other things. How do we decide what interests to devote our ...

In this Violin Geek Podcast series I cover all the most important elements of good practice, including the need to create a dedicated practice space, and to consider how we schedule practice and think about practice when we're doing other things. We ...

Not all listening is conscious, or honest! And sometimes we imagine that we sound worse or better then we do. In this episode of the Violin Geek Podcast learn how developing a solid connection between what we think we sound like and what we actually ...