What is shifting? How do we make our shifts more accurate and clean? If we're just beginning and not ready to learn how to shift yet, what can we do to ensure we'll be ready when the time comes? Join me as we dive deep into the nuances of shifting ...

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 ...

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 ...

Whew! For as shutdown as 2020 and 2021 were, 2022 has been a whirlwind of activity. I've been teaching and playing a ton of events locally, but alas, there have still been very few chances to perform as Dan ...

Ten years since recording the first episodes in this series, violinist/violist, teacher, and host Laurel Thomsen revisits the topic with fresh tips to help you sound more in tune on your violin, viola, cello, or bass. In this episode we cover several ...

When I upgraded to a new phone few years ago, every Sunday morning it started popping up with a weekly usage report, detailing the apps I'd spent the most time on. I quickly saw I was spending way too much time on social media! Granted, I was touring ...

Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Frechette and I just released our first single and music video from our fifth duo album "After the Fire," which we'll be releasing in its entirely January 21, 2022 (pre-order here). ...

When we first start playing, key signatures, those "hashtag," "pound sign," or baby "b" looking symbols to the right of the clef sign in our sheet music, might seem intimidating or even antiquated. After all, we probably ...

It’s that time of year again and I've already received some messages from prospective students and/or parents looking for guidance on purchasing a new violin, viola, or cello for a beginner on their holiday shopping list, as well as from some of my ...

In my latest Violin Geek Podcast episode we explore what it takes to create a compelling arrangement of a Pop, Rock, or Jazz tune and the factors that help determine whether a song is a good candidate for solo violin treatment or if it needs an ensemble ...

In this episode Laurel Thomsen is interviewed by award-winning vocalist and FAR-West Board Vice-President, Susie Glaze about her experience with teaching violin and viola online. Long before the Covid-19 pandemic, back in 2009 in fact, Laurel transitioned ...

Intonation has been a hot topic for the blog and in the lessons studio lately. Besides the challenge of getting a pure tone on a violin, viola, cello, or bass, it’s hard to cover up a note that’s just not in tune. In my recent post Improve Your Intonation ...

You’ve just perfected a difficult passage of your favorite concerto and grab your smartphone to capture this monumental practice achievement. You run through the passage again and while not perfect, you still feel pretty good about your progress. You ...

One of my violin students shared this inspirational message with me today. Though the day to day activities of an aviation technician are obviously quite different from a ...

This question was posed in my Complete Vibrato Mastery online course recently: Is wrist or arm vibrato better for violists?

I personally don't believe that one style of vibrato is better for ...

As the account goes, someone once asked child prodigy and virtuoso violinist Jascha Heifetz: “How are you able to play so well in tune?” To that, Heifetz replied something to the effect of: “I don’t. I adjust before anyone notices.” Although playing ...

After a brief encounter with a very basic bar rest as a child, my teacher recommended a Wolf and it's been my shoulder rest for both violin and viola for about 30 years now and the one I recommend most frequently to my students.

They didn't ...

This seems to be the topic in my lessons studio lately. Especially as the Covid-19 pandemic wears on, the days and weeks seem to run together and many of us are looking to create some memorable success. With many other aspects of life sidelined, ...

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 ...

If you use a tuner or tuning app, you might have wondered why there are often little numbers next to the letters. Maybe you’re seeing something like G3, F#4, or A5?

There are several octaves the human ear can register yet we only use 7 letter ...

Violin methods like Suzuki, the Solos series by Barbara Barber, and exam systems like UK's ABRSM, Canada’s The Royal Conservatory, and Australia’s AMEB offer graded repertoire intended to systematically prepare students for the major concertos of the ...

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 ...

Each time you practice your instrument you deepen your knowledge and ability, but also risk perpetuating bad habits. Whether you’re a beginner or a more advanced player, keeping in mind a basic checklist of foundational actions and skills can help ...

Beginning and intermediate students often worry that they’ll never be able to play their songs, scales, or etudes as well as the recordings they hear, their teacher, or people they see playing on YouTube. And if not, does it mean they should play the ...

With the COVID-19 shutdowns and for many of us, more time to practice our musical instruments, it’s important to avoid mental burnout and physical injury by keeping our expectations in check. I’ve had some students, excited to see the progress they ...

When it comes time to buy an instrument, especially when stepping up to a higher quality violin or viola, students often ask if I can recommend any particular brands. Unfortunately, that’s a tough question to answer and one that seems to assume that ...

I’ve written a number of posts over the years discussing effective ways to practice and ideas for helping create better practice habits or reinvigorate a practice routine. With my students, I prefer to focus on the quality of practice over stressing ...

Periods of overwhelm are common at any stage of learning to play the violin, viola, cello, fiddle, or any instrument for that matter. The technical aspects of any instrument, but especially violin family instruments, can be unforgiving, yet we all ...

We should never underestimate the power of foundational exercises. I really can't stress this enough in fact. In her YouTube series, “With Nicky,” violinist Nicola ...

My latest article for Strings Magazine focuses on some of the challenges of my favorite violin concerto. Check it out here: https://stringsmagazine.com/tips-on-nailing-tricky-double-stops-in-mendelssohns-violin-concerto/?mc_cid=2ba968c6f0&mc_eid=a5cf24edb5

June 2019 marked the 10-year anniversary of my first experiences teaching violin, viola, fiddle, and cello lessons via Skype (and more recently also FaceTime and Zoom). A lot has changed since then! The milestone has had me reflecting on the hundreds ...

I laughed when a colleague once told me: “It's all fun and games until someone gets a gig.” Whether it’s music you’ve enjoyed playing casually with friends, or an instrument or piece that hasn’t yet seen more than your practice room and maybe your ...

When we move beyond the beginning stages of learning to play the violin or viola and our basic major and minor arpeggio patterns, we quickly start to encounter scale books with more elaborate arpeggio sequences. If you’re a violin geek like I am, you ...

No matter our playing level or age, clean playing and fast playing are often at odds. Over my years of teaching the violin and viola, I’ve noticed that students tend to fall into two camps - those who try to play near tempo from the start, often with ...

It happens to all of us. We get impatient with our musical progress and suddenly we start questioning whether we should bother playing music at all. We start wondering, are we really cut out for this? Are we ever going to get any better? Have we reached ...

I received a question recently from one of my Complete Vibrato Mastery students asking whether one of type of vibrato (wrist, arm, or in modern times, the lesser used "finger" vibrato) ...

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 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, ...

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 ...

I fell in love with this Spanish carol from the mid-1800s when I was searching for traditional holiday music for Monterey's annual "Christmas in the Adobes" event.

After teaching it to a few of my violin students who were interested ...

I’m very excited to have a new online course available, this time all about vibrato! I’ve spend the last two months planning, video recording, editing, and finally, as I flew back and forth across the US for my Fall tour of New England, every chance ...

I received an email from a Violin Geek Podcast fan recently about improving the set up and hardware on a relatively inexpensive student instrument and thought others might have similar ...

This time next month it will be six years since I started offering violin, viola, fiddle, and cello lessons via Skype, FaceTime, and Zoom, and shortly thereafter realizing the world, quite literally, was opening up to me. I’ve since toured all over ...

I had the pleasure of reviewing a couple of mini condenser mics for violin these lest couple months and recently demoed them on video. Remic is a Danish company headed by Thorkild Larsen that’s been developing mics since 1996.

Of the two violin ...

Not all shifts are created equal. And no, we’re not talking nightgowns!

Learn how to refine your violin or string family shifting technique for optimal expression! Did you know that the finger you “travel” on during a shift makes a subtle but ...

Every month or two since early 2012 when I was included in a New York Times front page article about teaching music via Skype, I’ve received an ...

Do you:

• have technical issues you want to master?
• pieces needing polish, or a performance or audition to prepare for?
• want a second opinion about where to focus your energy and valuable practice time for the most pay ...

A tailpiece that can make your instrument sound better? While we've all experienced how different sting brands, different bows, and even rosin types can affect tone, everything else that goes into the instrument also makes a difference, including ...

Learn to adjust your fingerings to harmonize perfectly with open string drones, be they in fiddle tunes or presented as "easy" double stops in classical pieces. Sounds simple? Not so much! In this episode if the Violin Geek Podcast, find ...

Very happy to finally have some video footage of my new trio, Bright Side Band. Thanks Doug Young!

If you tuned in to the live webcast we did in May you may be particularly interested to check out our closing tune which was unceremoniously cut ...

In December I was interviewed by a reporter from the New York Times, Catherine Saint Louis, about teaching violin/viola over Skype. Today, the article, “With Enough Bandwidth, Many Join the Band” made the front page, A1. Very exciting to be included!

My new trio, Bright Side Band, with Jon Rubin, guitar, and Shannon Miller, vocals, finished the year with an experimental live home recording session of a medley of two traditional tunes - Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier and Pretty Girl Milking a Cow ...

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 ...

I love it when CDs I’ve recorded on arrive in the mail. To enjoy the latest along with me, check out the beautiful and well crafted songs of guitarist Doug Young! I had the pleasure to add some strings on the tune "Month of January." Doug ...

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 ...

Once we can play with good tone and intonation, and we’ve mastered the most basic tunes in the repertoire - Twinkle, Hot Cross Buns, etc., it’s time to add color and interest with dynamics - volume changes in performed music. Among these are the F’s ...

About once a year I do a search of other string teachers’ policies and rates in similar socio-economic areas. From the information I gather through these searches and through talking with other teachers, it’s clear that despite their policies, all ...

In this Violin Geek Podcast series I cover all the most important elements of good practice, including the need to create a dedicated practice space, and to consider how we schedule practice and think about practice when we're doing other things. We ...

As the holidays approach it may be time to take advantage of seasonal sales and surprise the budding string player in your life (maybe even yourself) with a new instrument. First things first though. What size? A string teacher can size students best, ...

Whether renting or purchasing, no matter what your budget or playing ability is, and even before considering tone and looks, it's important to get an instrument that is playable - one that can be tuned and isn't a literal pain to try and play. In this ...

In these very first episodes of the Violin Geek Podcast you'll learn to train your ears for excellent intonation on your violin or viola. String teacher Laurel Thomsen helps you tune the nine basic finger patterns found in all our major and minor scales ...

If you’re a string player, have you ever thought about left and right side independence? Perhaps not. The violin family instruments require such asymmetrical positions and motions, I suspect that many string players have never considered how interconnected ...

This Renaissance carol, “Riu Riu Chiu”, has been going around in my head for weeks! I recorded this version today on Garage Band, uploaded it to YouTube (my first time!!), and wanted to share it with everyone in honor of California's Spanish heritage. ...

As we all know, music lesson regularity and continuity are essential to progress. In an effort to decrease cancellations with current students, and to provide instruction to students in rural areas and foreign countries without access to good teachers ...

I have performed a few times now with my new violin pickup and am very excited about the warm, natural sound quality it produces. I have also been enjoying the freedom it gives me to move with the music rather than worry about standing still and keeping ...