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The age old story goes - you set up your bow hold, perfectly, just as your teacher showed you, but as soon as you start playing, the pinkie finger stiffens, or worse a joint fails and it buckles. Your tone starts to suffer. Your hold feels tense, and ...
I often receive emails and calls from parents and grandparents, wondering if their child is ready to start lessons or looking for advice about how to encourage their child to take more of an interest in music. First, I gather more information about ...
I had the pleasure of meeting with the Skype team over the past few months and helping Alpha test their new Skype Professional Accounts - basically, everything we love about Skype along with the integration of PayPal and Calendar apps, note taking, ...
Darker days can lead to darker thoughts. It’s usually this time of year that I start to see more of my students struggling with negative thoughts about their playing and progress and I wear the hat of the cheer leader and therapist a bit more often ...
One of the students enjoying my [online bowing course](https://www.laurelthomsen.com/Online Courses/) emailed me some questions about martelé recently. The technique was clear, but it’s application ...
The relationship between music teacher and student is a connection which goes far beyond the notes and often lasts years, if not a lifetime. It can not be replicated by watching a video or reading a book, although video courses, YouTube videos, and ...
Please email me at laurel@laurelthomsen.com if you have a violin, viola, fiddle, music biz, or practice related question you’d like answered in the blog or on a podcast, have a story or insight to share, or if you’d like to inquire about violin, viola, or fiddle lessons with me, in-person or online via Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom.
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Laurel ThomsenViolin, Viola, Vocals
Performance, Instruction, Recording
Based in Santa Cruz, California
"After the Fire" - released January 21, 2022!
Each song portrays a facet of the journey from setback to reclaimed hope - finding faith in the possibility of LOVE in “Make Me Come Alive,” HOME in “Beale Street,” COMMUNITY in “Together Again” and “Money Shouldn’t Talk That Strong,” and one’s own STRENGTH and FORTITUDE in “If A Wave” and “Hey, It’ll Be OK.”