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It's wedding season, which, for myself here in coastal California is basically year round now, and I think a lot of string players can relate to this question posed recently in a violinist forum: How do we approach learning contemporary pop repertoire ...
Have you had the experience of suddenly hearing something in a recording, or about your playing that you never noticed before? Could the secret to becoming a better musician, in large part, not be just about practice and technique, but about becoming ...
What scale or excerpt should you choose to audition with? What should you do if all the excerpts are either too difficult and others too easy? When you have limited time to prepare the material, where should you put your focus for the most pay off? ...
If your arms get tired or even sore after playing for a little while, you feel like a droopy bow arm is leading to trouble keeping a good tone, or you're working harder than you probably should just keeping your instrument up, this video is for you! ...
Many of us were drawn to play the violin, viola, or cello because we'd heard playing that brought us to tears, filled us with joy, or expressed a feeling that we couldn't even describe with words. Truly, there seems to be no limit to the emotions and ...
Why do performers in some situations stand, while others sit? And is it better to sit or stand when we practice?
Traditionally, violin and viola soloists stand, but sit as ensemble members. Standing helps the audience identify the soloist and ...
Between many method books now including play-along tracks, or just wanting to play along with our favorite albums, or videos we find on YouTube, once we've practiced along with a range of pre-recorded tracks and accompaniments, eventually we come across ...
People are starting to hit the road again, but what does this mean for our instruments? In this episode of the Violin Geek Podcast, I'm sharing tips for safely getting your instrument ...
In my latest article for Strings magazine I researched six popular music notation software programs and apps. The article is out now in the July/August print edition, and also online through the link below (I love that Strings also embedded videos ...
With my first email address in the early 2000s came an inbox full of musician scams. The "opportunities" seem to come in waves. Sometimes I'll get five in a month. Other times, they'll forget about me for five years.
The premise of ...
While there are many options for free sheet music online, giving us near instant gratification when we hear a melody we love on a movie or TV show or hear our teacher mention that we’ll be trying a new concerto or sonata soon, it’s usually worth it ...
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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