Kitchen Sink Vibrato

Everything but the kitchen sink…that’s what we put in the best cookies ever! Chocolate, nuts, candy, pretzels, even marshmallows, it’s all fair game for these cookies. Each ingredient adds sweetness and texture, making these unforgettable treats. And just like these cookies, vibrato can add sweetness, intensity, and passion to our musical phrasing…

But not everyone likes vibrato, at least at first. You might have tried it in the early books as an experiment, then as an awkward exercise in book three, then set it on the back burner during the Vivaldi Concertos. At some point, we want to keep circling back to the technical aspects of vibrato to add sweetness, intensity, and depth to our tone and phrasing. Below are some of my favorite tricks to try that can help trigger the muscle movement, relaxation, and speed needed to develop a more refined vibrato. These ideas come from amazing teachers like Kurt Sassmanshaus, Kersten Wartberg, Simon Fischer, Nathan Cole, Itzhak Perlman, and Ivan Galamian. Click on the bold titles to view a video demonstration.

ALLA GUITARRA - Hold the violin like a guitar under your right arm. Place your left hand in first position and allow your thumb to glide lightly along the neck as you rock each finger towards the bridge, then towards the scroll. Feel the freedom to wiggle the first knuckle from left to right, engaging the wrist and arm to move the finger. Start slow and speed up to a fast wiggle.

SHAKE AND BAKE - Find an egg shaker, old film canister, or even a small water bottle to hold in your left hand. Hold the object up at the level and angle of your violin, and practice shaking object to hear the rattle, using your wrist and then your arm. Start with a few shakes and then build up to 15 seconds at a time.

PAPER CAPER - Tear off a corner of a piece of notebook paper, about the size of a quarter. Place your violin on your shoulder in concert position and with your right hand, place the paper on top of the second and third strings. Trap in place with your ring finger and practice sliding up towards the bridge and back towards the scroll. Double check that your thumb is soft and your arm is engaged in moving the paper, rather than just the finger.

THIRD ROCK - Place your violin in concert position and left hand in third position, resting your wrist on the shoulder of the instrument. Try rocking one finger at a time up and down the fingerboard, leaving your wrist to rest on the shoulder while rocking back and forth. The left knuckles will pull back towards the scroll and then rock back towards your nose.

FOR NO ROSIN - If you have a rectangular bow rosin, this is for you. Place your instrument in concert position and trap the rosin box against the violin shoulder with your wrist. This should bring you close to first position. Practice the same wrist-rocking motion that you used in Third Rock, while holding the rosin still against the violin. Then take the rosin away and imitate the same motion with your wrist.

WALL STREET - Hold your violin in concert position and gently lean against a wall or place your scroll on a bookshelf for support. This will give you support as you balance one finger at a time on the fingerboard, rocking towards the scroll and then to the bridge. Now is a great time to try using your arm to engage a faster, wider vibrato motion. As you find your rhythm, lift the violin up and away from the support and keep the motion going.

MICROWAVE - Place your violin in concert position with your left hand in third position. Hold your hand open and get ready to wave back and forth above the fingerboard and strings. Add your bow starting at the tip on the second string, and crescendo to the frog as your wave increases to your quickest waving tempo. On the down bow, continue the fast wave motion and slow as you move the bow back out to the tip. Try on all the strings and alternate bowing, then try on individual fingers.

PEDAL TO THE METAL - This famous vibrato accelerando can be found at the beginning of Suzuki book three. Here, vibrato starts out rocking from the original pitch, then down a half step. The pitch variations start out on a quarter note pulse, then as eighth notes, then eighth note triplets, then sixteenth notes. Although this is introduced in early in the Suzuki books, it is an exercise many artists use to to continue shaping the width and speed of their vibrato as adults. Many years ago, I was able to listen to Dorothy Delay teach this to Alisa Weilerstein in her lesson using this very exercise! She advised using a metronome, starting out at 40 beats per minute, and then increasing each day up to 80 beats per minute.

THE MATRIX - As vibrato becomes more second nature and you are practicing continuous vibrato, you can begin mapping your vibrato colors through a matrix of Fast - Slow - Wide - Narrow. Try mixing and matching fast/wide to slow/narrow to find new shades of richness or subtlety, depending on the desired intensity. In this video demonstration, Nicola Benedetti compares five violin masters and their use of vibrato. Watch it a half speed to see the diversity of motion between the five players. Everyone truly finds their own style, and so will you!

Happy Practicing,

Kathleen

Practice Challenge 2022

As we launch our annual spring challenge, I wanted to share with you the three most important violin lessons from my childhood. I hope it adds fuel to your practice fire and inspires you to set high goals this spring!

TONE PRODUCTION

The first violin lesson I remember growing up was with Sister Jeanette Wood, who taught me throughout my grade school years. She was an incredibly patient and thoughtful teacher who used many descriptions of tone production, bow distribution, and bowing articulations, including the “Panda Bow,” to describe pronating into the stick to create a deeper tone. I love the notes she wrote in my books with her beautiful handwriting, they are so poignant as I look back on them now. But the moment I remember most is the day she recorded me playing the Seitz Concerto No. 5, first movement, and asked me to listen back to the recording in the lesson. It was the first time I had ever heard my own playing and it wasn’t what I expected. It was scratchy and rough, with no connection between the notes. The sound that was going on in my mind was clearly not actually coming out of my violin. It was a revelation and transformed my playing early on. Many top teachers and performers use self-recording to self-assess tone production from a third-person perspective. It’s often easy to get caught up in the difficult notes and rhythms, the technical obstacles, and miss the forest for the trees. If we’re not producing a beautiful tone, our correct pitch and rhythms get lost in the muddy waters of weak or scratchy sound production. So I try to record often, at least a short snippet once a week, to check in on beautiful tone production. For more information on self-monitoring. check out The Bulletproof Musician blog.

INTONATION

The second most memorable lesson came from Kurt Sassmanshaus at the Aspen Music Festival. His coaching style was so direct and concise, he was able to sum up both right hand and left hand issues so beautifully. I remember one lesson in particular, having played first pages of the Vieuxtemps Violin Concerto No. 5, he asked what was the main difference between what I had just performed and a recording. Because it was the most difficult thing I had ever tackled, the thought to compare what I was working on to any professional recording was mind-boggling. There were so many things wrong with my playing, I thought to myself, that it was impossible to pick just one. He directed my attention to intonation, the differences between Pythagorean Intonation, Just Intonation, Equal Temperament, and how to use a chromatic tuner with those three systems. For detailed videos and exercises, check out his website, Violin Masterclass. I highly recommend it!

BREATHING

The third lesson was actually a year of lessons with my teacher, Kathryn Lucktenberg, at the University of Oregon, focusing on releasing tension in my bow arm through breath. She taught me how to connect my breath to the full range of bow movements, mapping out the extension of the fingertips at the tip and the soft rounded fingers at the frog, and the looping forearm as it sweeps up and then the elbow as it sinks down. Numbering the breath in for 8 counts and exhaling for the last 4 counts before changing bow direction allowed for my shoulders to soften at the bow changes and my fingertips to relax around the stick. Years later having learned more about yoga, her instruction was pointing to Ujjayi Breathing, where the inhale is a deep cleansing breath that fills the ribcage and a controlled exhale that relieves tension and warms the body. In those lessons, we would stand together facing the large mirror in her office so that I could mimic her graceful movements on open strings. It is still my favorite way to warm up and reconnect with my tone.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Tone and intonation are so interconnected, it’s impossible to separate them completely. When there is too much bow weight in proportion to speed and contact point, the pitch can bend down out of tune, even on an open string. Talk about double trouble when playing double stops! When the bow weight is too light for the contact point and speed, a false whistling tone can be the result and the true pitch is also obscured. The chromatic tuner, as Sassmanshaus suggested, can be used to both gauge our pitch and our steady tone. This type of slow and thoughtful practice can have a transforming effect on our tone and intonation, and when combined with mindful breathing, can unlock Dr. Suzuki’s “whale tone”

Happy practicing in the New Year!

Practice tips from our studio practice pros

This year we had a fantastic practice challenge. We all logged our practice hours for 100 days this spring, and six students were able to practice every single day! Elizabeth M, Justin H, Rebekah M, Scottlyn W, Jada H, and Jason H. all practiced for one hundred days it a row. Fantastic job! So why do we practice? To reinforce our best playing and train our hands and mind to do new things with ease. Watch this video to learn more: HOW TO PRACTICE EFFECTIVELY.

Here are some great tips from our master practicers. Click on a picture to hear what helped them the most this year…

PIQs: Parent's Important Questions

“I have noticed that my student has difficulty getting started with her practice for the first few days after a lesson. I’m wondering if she is overwhelmed. Do you have any suggestions?”

This is a great question! It is easy to underestimate the mental fatigue that comes with trying something new. The violin is a challenging instrument and there are many things that work together to produce good tone and good intonation. Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy was to focus on only one thing at a time. On some days, that means just listening to the recording while coloring. On other days, it means getting the violin out and trying our best. My favorite Suzuki teacher James Hutchins always says, “Don’t worry! We have plenty of time.” He’s right, I think; we don’t have to rush ourselves as we start to develop new habits. They come over time as we learn to listen and try new things in lessons and play together in group class. It’s a natural and gradual process over time.

“How does one avoid frustration during practice time”

Any technical skill that we are learning can become frustrating as adults, and the same is true for young children. Taking a break, taking some deep breaths, or switching to a new task can help. Practice often makes permanent, so taking a break to review earlier pieces is a great way to reinforce good habits and give relief from the pressure to master something new all at once. One of the best skills to model to our students is patience, with the gentle reminder that our goal is not perfection but beautiful music and wonderful friendships.

The ABC’s of Suzuki Education

All children can learn. The Suzuki method is based on the idea that just as children learn to speak their native language fluently, they are equally able to learn the language of music through the daily immersion of listening and practicing with others. 

Building a repertoire. The Suzuki books are carefully designed to teach one new thing in each new piece, so that the student can build skills gradually with confidence. The ten-book series has undergone multiple revisions by an international committee to ensure teaching a high standard of musicianship and technical skills.

Creating family bonds and friendships.  One of the most joyful experiences of the Suzuki program is the long-term bonds forged between parents and children and also between Suzuki families. This comes from attending weekly group lessons and semester recitals, all while watching the children grow in maturity and ability over the years. Students in the program form life-long friendships and often stay in touch with each other long after high school.

Daily listening and review. Daily listening to the audio recordings is an important part of the immersion process, which is reinforced in lessons and group class. Playing the pieces together in group class also builds enormous confidence in technique, memory, and solo performances. 

Early beginnings.  Just as in learning a language, it’s never too early to start dancing or clapping along to the audio recordings. The most wonderful Suzuki phenomenon happens when younger siblings absorb every bit of music that their older bothers and sisters are playing and can’t wait to join in. When it is their turn to start lessons, they have already internalized a great deal of the essential elements of music. 

Frequent performances.  Learning to perform together in group class helps to prepare students for positive first solo performances, taking away the stress and worry of preparing for ‘the big day’ of recitals. Performing frequently also helps students focus on playing their best, rather than expecting perfection once a year. 

Group work.  ‘Peer-based learning’ is a phrase that means students oftentimes learn just as much from each other as they do in one-on-one lessons with the teacher. Whether it is the reassurance that a tricky passage is indeed tricky for everyone, or showing off new skills to a friend, or the joy of being able to play songs well together by memory, student-to-student learning is a joy to watch and where life-long friendships begin.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination. Dr. Suzuki envisioned that the process of learning and acquiring new skills through deliberate and patient practice is the essence of joy. The friendships that emerge from learning together in a supportive environment are the priceless gifts of traveling the musical journey together.

Ideas shared between teachers.  Part of the success of the Suzuki program is due to the regular teacher meetings at institutes, workshops, national conferences, and ongoing professional development opportunities. Suzuki teachers meet often to share ideas, trouble-shoot learning hurdles for students, and constantly brainstorm together new ways to help students.

Just practice on the days you eat. Yes, that is everyday! But the goal is to always end on a positive note, even if that means 5 minutes of playing for the day. Practicing is essential for improvement and study after study shows that focused practice means more in the long run than ‘talent’ or ‘natural ability.’ In every case, hard work pays off. For more on the topic, read Anders Ericsson’s Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise. 

Kindness and cooperation. Never has it been more important to model kindness in our communities and to our children, and show the importance of cooperation in everything we do. When students are in group class, they will learn to listen to each other, cooperate with each other, and work as a group to accomplish a specific goal – often in literal harmony.

Loving, respectful philosophy. Dr. Suzuki’s viewpoint was that children should learn character first through the practice of music, then learn to master music as a consequence. Musical mastery is only secondary to learning to be a loving, respectful human being to self and others.

Memory skills. All pieces are memorized and performed by memory together in group class and in recitals. When music (or any information) is memorized, it travels to the long-term memory portion of our brain and remains there. We experience the music more fully and in a new way when we are able to play it from memory.  For a great podcast on this, listen to Molly Gebrain talk about reliable memorization strategies on The Bulletproof Musician.

Natural progress. Learning is a natural process that develops over time through repetition and practice. Recent studies show that all skills can be mastered best through a growth mindset, where students understand that their brain works just like a muscle and can get stronger through practice. For more on this, please watch Carol Dweck’s talk on the “Growth Mindset.”

One step mastery.  The violin is a challenging instrument, which requires processing multiple kinesthetic and aural channels at the same time. We listen and feel as we play the violin, and it can be overwhelming to try to overcome more than one new aspect at a time. That is why Suzuki teachers practice the ‘one point’ rule, where only one technique or musical aspect is given at a time to work on for the week. 

Positive approach.  While blanket praise for being ‘talented’ has been proven to cause more harm than good, focused and specific praise helps students learn what they are doing right so they can recognize and repeat a successful skill. It is the goal of Suzuki lessons and practice to focus on the positive and make learning as fun as possible. 

Quiet mind. Having a quiet focus and patient concentration is a skill worth developing for a lifetime and is very helpful in learning the violin as well. Just the act of listening to the Suzuki audio recordings can be a wonderful respite from the frenetic activity of our daily lives. To learn more about the value of learning patience skills in young children, listen to this fascinating study titled “Mischel’s Marshmallows” hosted by NPR’s Radiolab.

Reading when ready. As the Suzuki method shows, reading music is not a pre-requisite for playing music. Just as young children learn to speak first and read second, the same can be true of musical skills. Children learn so much by just observing and mimicking! For most students, reading will be introduced by the end of book one and will be reading in the fullest sense by book three as the music becomes more challenging and complex.

Self-confidence. Through group lessons, private lessons, and recitals, students can become leaders as they acquire the special gift of musicianship. When they are able to play a piece for show-and-tell at school, play for a worship service, or even for a grandparent, students are learning to be confident in their hard work and proud of their newly acquired musical skills.

Tonalization daily. Tonalization refers to a specific melody written by Dr. Suzuki to highlight the naturally resonant tones on the violin. Some of the first tones are introduced in book one, and the full melody is introduced in book two. As students practice it daily, they are able to learn about intonation and pure tone production from listening carefully to their violin as they play the tonalization melody. 

Unemotional feedback. Feedback is an important tool of every teacher to help students understand what to change to improve their playing. Some of the best tools are video and audio recordings, chromatic tuners, mirrors and metronomes that help provide unbiased feedback to students. In my studio, we often make “practice videos” on parents’ phones to illustrate a teaching point that the student can practice with during the week. Similarly, when students can see in a picture or video what they are actually doing, versus what they feel like they are doing, it can shed light on a teaching point instantly and without judgement. 

Values – love, truth, virtue, beauty. These are values Dr. Suzuki held in high esteem and wanted to pass on to every student. They are self-evident in their value but often over-looked in the constant striving for scholastic achievement. Stopping for a moment to listen to something beautiful, to appreciate the skill in creating something beautiful, is worthy of our time and energy.

Whole brain learning.  Playing music is the embodiment of whole brain learning; music incorporates the areas of language and motors skills similar to learning both a foreign language and a sport at the same time. Also, in learning about the composers and musical directions, students are exposed to the Italian language and Western art history.

‘Xcellent’ teaching and parenting.  The ‘Suzuki Triangle’ is the wonderful cooperation between parent, teacher, and child to form the best learning outcomes for students. Every family dynamic is unique, and the shape of the triangle may vary greatly from family to family, but the teamwork between the parent and teacher can be a wonderful source of encouragement and growth for the student. For more ideas on this, consider enrolling in the Suzuki Association’s courses, Parents as Partners and Every Child Can.

Yields high musical and academic results. Simply by attending a Suzuki workshop, institute, or play-in, one can see students performing at all ages at the highest level of achievement. There are no auditions required, only hard work and consistent participation!  

Zenith of human development.  The Suzuki method is based on the value of each individual’s human potential and the belief that everyone can learn music, not just the naturally talented and gifted. Working together to achieve great things is the highest form of learning and the primary goal of the Suzuki program. 

What's My Motivation: how to find your fire

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but I have fallen in love with practicing as an adult. When I was younger, it was not so! As a child, I remember my mom hiding chocolate behind the pages of my music to entice me to practice on my own, to no avail. I rarely practiced my assigned pieces outside of lessons or orchestra rehearsal, and it wasn't until I decided to major in music when my teacher opened my eyes to the art of practicing. As an adult, now I realize how powerful mindful practice can be and how difficult it can be to carve out that alone time.

The spark that really lit my fire ten years ago came from reading Daniel Levitin's book, This Is Your Brain on Music. His chapter on expertise explains the often cited 10,000 hours rule and asserts that no musician has achieved mastery without massive practice at their art. Somehow, putting a quantifiable number on the idea of mastery was so freeing to me - instead of questioning my innate musical ability, I refocused my efforts on the quality and quantity of my practice. From that day on, I began to chart my practice hours and set a goal of roughly 1000 hours per year. Some years I have fallen very short, due to my teaching load or moves for my husband's work, but some years I have come closer. In 2017, I was able to log 960 hours, and I hope to practice even more this year!

Kindling for my fire seems to be there every time I have really needed it. This past year, my favorite motivation has come from audio books and podcasts that I can listen to while I am running or driving around town. Nathan Cole's new podcast with his wife Akiko called, Stand Partners For Life, chronicles their musical growth from childhood to raising their own children all while leading the LA Philharmonic's first violin section. Another bounty of positive motivation can be found on the Per Service podcast, where four friends support each other through the trials and tribulations of musical auditions and contracting life.

To kindle your own fire, check out these motivational books that can turn up the heat in your practice life:

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

The Practice of Practice: How to Boost Your Musical Skills by Jonathan Harnum

Practice: 250 Step by Step Practice Methods for the Violin by Simon Fischer

The Musician's Way: A Guide to Practice, Performance, and Wellness by Gerald Klickstein

I'm still on the hunt for kindling for our practice fires! Please let me know if you find a gem not listed here.

And for now, Happy Practicing!!

Kathleen