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Tag: bowing

Violin Geek Podcast
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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 ...

How-To
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Good tone is a recipe with many ingredients, mostly involving the bow. We soon learn that weight is an important component, as well as bow speed and keeping the bow straight. However, good tone can still remain elusive. It's happened so many times ...

How-to
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In this recent teaching video I'm sharing on my YouTube channel I'm sharing one of my favorite exercises to share with my students. Do you conveniently avoid playing in the lower half of the bow, or outright fear the tones you might encounter down ...

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I had the pleasure of making the recent online acquaintance of David France, violinist, teacher, and the founder and executive director of Revolution of Hope, a Boston based program which helps bring the joy of playing music to the lives of inner city ...

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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 ...

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Whether you've been playing for months or years, the cause of jitters, sputters, and tremor type sounds in your sustained bow strokes can be so elusive they're ranked among the most annoying and frustrating issues a string player will ever encounter. ...

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An excerpt from my Improve Your Bowing Technique online course is featured in the January 2012 edition of Strings magazine. If your bow strokes sound better on some strings than others, it could be that you need to adjust your bow’s contact point. ...

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Another excerpt from my Improve Your Bowing Technique online course is featured in the December 2011 edition of Strings magazine! Want to move your bow from G to D? Or perhaps E to G? Or...A to E? No matter where you’re rocking your bow, your upper ...

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An excerpt from my Improve Your Bowing Technique online course is featured in the November 2011 edition of Strings magazine. As the foundation of your bowing technique, how you hold your bow can mean the difference between beautiful tones and perpetual ...

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Laurel Thomsen

Violin, Viola, Vocals
Performance, Instruction, Recording

Based in Santa Cruz, California

Site by Laurel Thomsen
Photography by Michelle Magdalena

laurel@laurelthomsen.com
831-224-0913
Skype: laurelthomsen

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