The Violin Geek Blog Tips, insight, and inspiration since 2007.
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Last summer I was honored to chat with Julia Reddy of the Violin Class podcast about life, music, managing our inner critics, improving our self-esteem, and the experience of starting over with technique and getting to the other side. The episode has ...
In this fourth installment of the Violin Geek Podcast's Intonation Mastery series we explore common issues within our technique that may contribute to intonation issues, as well as some considerations within our approach to tonality, and tempered versus ...
This question came from the violin teacher of an intermediate student struggling to memorize her first more complex and lengthy solo piece. Trying and failing to memorize the piece was causing the young teen a lot of stress and the parents were starting ...
Happy Holidays!!
I hope my last post of 2022 finds you well and enjoying a joyous and restful season. It's been a busy year and I'm looking forward to spending some time with loved ones in the coming weeks, though still virtually ...
In this episode of The Violin Geek Podcast we speak with celebrated New England based fiddler and songwriter Lissa Schneckenburger, who's been helping students increase their confidence and improve their skills ...
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 ...
In this podcast episode we travel behind the scenes again, into the making of one of the songs I wrote and released earlier this year, along with Canadian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dan Frechette, ...
Please reach out 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, cello, or fiddle lessons with me, in-person or online via FarPlay, FaceTime, or Zoom.
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Laurel ThomsenViolin, Viola, Vocals
Performance, Instruction, Recording
Based in Santa Cruz, California
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"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.”