The Violin Geek Blog Tips, insight, and inspiration since 2007.
Welcome! I'm glad you found me and I hope you'll enjoy my musings, tips, updates, and insights.
Please use the search bar below to sort posts by category or keyword. If you're enjoying a topic, you can also click categories listed below, or the tags listed at the top of a post to organize a new list of posts with the same categories and/or tags. Happy reading!
- christmas music
- encouragement
- fitness
- gear review
- improvisation
- insight
- inspiration
- instrument tips
- interview
- intonation
- music
- music business
- musician tips
- music theory
- new album
- new music
- online lessons
- pedogogy
- performance tips
- practice tips
- recording tips
- repertoire
- stories
- student tips
- teaching tips
- technique tips
- update
- visualization
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 ...
Happy new year everyone! The year is beginning for me with another published article in Strings magazine. Check out the January 2011 edition in bookstores now or follow the link below to the online version. The article is all about the left hand thumb ...
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.
The Violin Geek Blog is a free resource and always will be. We also don't sell advertising, meaning that everything you read has been a labor of love. If you'd like to support my efforts and help ensure they continue, please consider making a donation. Thanks for your support!
Laurel ThomsenViolin, Viola, Vocals
Performance, Instruction, Recording
Based in Santa Cruz, California
"After the Fire" - released January 21, 2022!
Each song portrays a facet of the journey from setback to reclaimed hope - finding faith in the possibility of LOVE in “Make Me Come Alive,” HOME in “Beale Street,” COMMUNITY in “Together Again” and “Money Shouldn’t Talk That Strong,” and one’s own STRENGTH and FORTITUDE in “If A Wave” and “Hey, It’ll Be OK.”