Great Article On James Ehnes

For anyone taking violin lessons or anybody who wants to teach yourself violin it's always good to learn about other accomplished violinists. Here is a great article on modern violinist James Ehnes who is a big fan of the third movement. You can read the article here. Here's a little blurb from the article:

At the age of 8, Ehnes began studying with Canadian pedagogue Francis Chaplin who he regards as his major influence. “He was a hugely important person in my life, like a member of the family,” he recalls. “Chaplin exposed me to all kinds of music but he always allowed me freedom for exploration and experimentation.”

Ehnes found a similar openness to new artistic ideas in his studies with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music and later at Juilliard. “She was a former top assistant to Ivan Galamian [teacher of Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman], an inheritor of a great Russian tradition. She was a remarkable woman of amazing integrity.”

I personally like hearing other musicians stories because not only is it interesting to learn about them but I also find it inspirational. If you can learn something from someone else or pick something up from them and use it constructively it's always a bonus!

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra review

Here is a link to a great review of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra opening night gala this past Saturday. The concert had a pleasant surprise when famous violinist Midori was there and performed Tchaikovsky’s popular Violin Concerto. She was apparently a real hit.

Anyone who loves violin or inspires to learn it, or wants to teach yourself violin should check this out. Any chance to hear a great orchestra such as the BPO is a great opportunity. Here's a quick blurb from the review:

The effect was irresistible. There was nothing like hearing Midori whipping through the music at top speed, with the orchestra panting behind her. Working together, they brought the music to a dazzling finish. The crowd jumped up and cheered.

Inspiration for the beginner violin player

I'm always trying to look for inspirational stories for the beginner violin player because I know how much they can help the player out when they're struggling to learn the instrument at the beginning. Stories don't come any more inspirational than this one.

20 year old Kyle Conley has a remarkable story. The soloist suffers from something that would set 99.9% of people back from learning an instrument, he's blind. That hasn't stood in the way of his passion though.

"The hard thing in that piece is really keeping your fingers and the bow in line with each other. Because there are rapidly moving 16th notes, and sometimes it can run away from you a little bit,"

You can read the rest of his remarkable story by clicking here. It's stories like this one that give me motivation because it tells you to never give up on something that you love.

Great way to introduce instruments to kids

This is a great way to introduce a beginner violin player, or any instrument for that matter, to the actual instrument. A teacher in Juneau, Alaska has introduced a program that helps kids learn about and care for musical intruments, as well as learning the basics of musicianship.

El Sistema is a free program that has served more than 1 million children in Venezuela. Families and children craft paper string instruments together so students can develop respect, care and discipline for their instruments while building basic musicianship skills. Other cities taking on the program are Los Angles, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta and Durham, N.C.

The kids will get lessons 3 times a week, starting with the instruments they've crafted. The students will take up the small mock instruments in class and practice holding them properly, using fine and gross motor movements, rhythms, holding the bow and when to play and stop. Heagy said they will sing the songs they’re “playing” so they get used to the movements and will learn to play in a group.

The students will perform a piece in October as an orchestra, and then they will get their real instruments and continue from there. This program is truly amazing and it's an incredible way to teach kids and to introduce them to music. I'm such a big proponent of people learning musical instruments and I feel it should be something that is taught more in schools. It's an excellent way to develop the mind and it's a different approach than just getting kids to memorize dates and history and things like that. It teaches application which is something missing from a lot of school programs.

Great story for violinist at any level

Whether you're a beginner violin player or someone who's been playing and has been struggling, this is a great story to motivate you. Sometimes you get in a rut and you feel like giving up. Don't ever do it, this is proof you can overcome any kind of doubt with your playing.

A few years ago violinist Melissa White went through a period of self doubt, like a lot of people do. She doubted whether she should keep pursuing playing her violin. She just didn't feel the fire.

"I'd go up to my room to practice, and I'd find I didn't have much motivation and it wasn't fun anymore," said White.

However she found a summer job where she was teaching music to kids. This summer job helped her set the fire a blaze again.

"Teaching was the best experience for me, because when you teach, you learn so much. It made me think about music and brought the fun back into it for me."

White now tours the country with one of the nation’s hottest young chamber groups, the Harlem Quartet. I found this story to be extremely motivational, not just for a violinist but for any musician who has lost the fire. Never give up.

Beginner violin starting point

Lot's of people would love to learn an instrument but it can sometimes prove to be difficult. There can be obstacles that get in peoples way and it can discourage people from learning, which is a shame. Taking private lessons are an excellent way to learn, but they can be quite expensive. It can also be hard to fit it around a work or school schedule.

But people should never let that stand in their way. Learning an instrument can be a truly amazing thing. It can build your confidence and it can allow a great way to channel your energy and emotion. That's why it can be a good idea to teach yourself violin. For the beginner violin player it's not as hard as people think.

There is a great course called Violin Master Pro, which is taught by the great violinist Eric Lewis, that can help you achieve your goal of learning the violin. The course provides you with all avenues of learning the violin, from how to hold the bow to how to train your ear to learning all the different scales. If you want to find out more about the course just click here.

I can promise you it's the best avenue to go if you want to teach yourself violin online. Eric Lewis is an accomplished violin master and he plays with the Manhattan String Quartet. He has a very simple yet thorough way of teaching that will give you the foundation you need as well as give you more challenging material for you to become the violinist you want to be, whatever level you desire to play at.