Teaching

Have you ever been to a lesson and thought, “I hope that my violin teacher does not ask me to play that piece!  I am having trouble with it!”  I know I have been there many a time.  It seems to me that this is human nature to want to hide the areas where you […]

Do you every think “I should go practice, but there really isn’t enough time?”  I know I have!  Also, there are days that I sit on the couch with lots of time thinking “I should really go practice”, but never quite make it.  Even though I am a professional musician, and even though I love […]

I love the sound of double stops, but they can be tricky to play in tune.  Double stops are the notes you see that are piled on top of each other on the music.  In these cases you play both notes at the same time.  I have spent many an hour working on my double […]

As I continue playing, my favourite pieces of equipment change, but for right now, here are my four favourites! Tuner – I not only like a tuner, but one with a tone generating function.  I specifically want to be able to have my tuner play any note that I chose so I can have it […]

Back when I was in high school and was taking private violin lessons, my teacher used to talk about being in “my studio” to practice.  I always got the giggles because at that point my “studio” was a corner of the dining room where we had a music stand with a light over it.  My […]

If you are like many of my students, you have probably taken a break from playing the fiddle through the summer.  Now that we are headed back into the school year, it is time to get back into the swing of things!  Here are 5 tips to help you make the most of this coming […]

These past couple of weeks I have been performing outside, both at weddings and at summer concerts.  I love playing music outdoors!  This got me thinking about the kind of equipment that you need to have for playing music outside. 1.  A good music stand that is stable 2.  Wind irons, clothes pins, or magnets […]

In learning the fiddle, it can be very handy to know the anatomy of a fiddle tune.  The general structure of a fiddle tune is quite simple, although, as with all rules, there can always be exceptions! The basic structure of a fiddle tune as a whole is that there are two parts.  The first […]