I really enjoyed reading The Talent Code, recommended by the parent of one of my violin students. The book is full of wonderful stuff, but the one that sticks with me is a very simple graph of music students, the amount they practice, and their level of skill. The book notes that, yes, more practice does equal more skill, but the biggest key to building more skill is the belief that you will be a musician for life. That is, kids who begin an instrument with the idea that they will play this instrument forever do better than kids who think they'll play for a few years, and they in turn do better than kids who are just trying it out with no real expectation of commitment. Wow.

There is also an excellent section on practicing at Meadowmount and somewhere in there the comment is made that being a musician is an "honest profession". You put in the time to learn something, and you either know it or you don't. This is different than when I was growing up...I thought that some people were just better at the violin, had some mysterious skill that I did not have. Of course, it's true that everyone has different skills they're better at, but it wasn't until I trained myself to play violin all over again that I realized that skill is really built by dedication, careful practice and awareness.

Yes, you train your muscles, you improve your posture, balance, and coordination. But the quickest way to do all of these things is to train your awareness of what your body is doing, starting with the big muscles and slowly becoming aware of the tiny motions you're making. The moment you can develop enough awareness, you can start to become your own teacher, to notice things you're doing as you practice and ask questions of your violin teacher when you're at your lesson. And finally, you're able to teach yourself.

This is what I want for all of my students. I'm thinking about and working on more exercises, and will get going soon with some fresh posts. I'm also thinking about ways to tie everything together, a "road map" for learning the violin. Exciting!

Part of being able to play freely is developing your "inner suspension system." This happens when muscles are activated and balancing each other, giving you a sensation of floating inside your suspended body instead of laboring to hold yourself in a position. Over the next few posts, I'm going to write about how I help violinists, violists, and dancers train their bodies to be suspended so that more energy is available for tiny motor movements (such as in fingers!)

Abdominal muscles (also often referred to as your "core") are the place to start. But don't lie down on the floor yet to do 100 crunches. The most important thing is to do the abdominal exercises efficiently, using only the muscles you need while leaving the others relaxed.

To tune into your abdominals before starting to work on them, here is a simple, effective exercise.

1. lie on your back, with knees bent.
2. expel all air from yourself in a big exhalation.
3. suck your stomach towards the floor, carving a hollow into your stomach.
4. keep sucking in, and now also try sucking your stomach towards your ribs, continuing to create that concavity.
5. when you need to breathe, let the air in and release your muscles.

Playing the violin (and to an even greater extent, the viola) is so much easier when your abdominals are in charge of holding you up. You can train your abs in a ridiculously short time if you build the habit of doing it every day. Here is my strategy for doing this:

Begin by tuning into your abs. Then:

1. remain on the floor, knees bent.
2. lace your hands behind your neck/head for support.
3. suck your abs towards the floor. Picture yourself as a hinge...as your abs contract, they cause your upper body to come off of the floor. Do not try to touch your knees, sit all the way up, etc. Only let your upper body lift if you feel that the abs are doing all of the work.
4. leave your legs as loose as you can. Concentrate all of your mental energy on your abs.
5. leave your arms as loose as you can.
6. leave everything else as loose as you can!

To build the habit of doing these every day, do this exercise until it feels like you're working at it. This is your current limit. Now make the number of repetitions something less than that. The idea is to do a number of repetitions that doesn't feel like work, so that you will be more likely to do it the next day.

I've stabilized at about 60 reps every morning, which is plenty for me to maintain the tone that I need. Some mornings I'm just too tired, so I'll do 30, do something else, then do another 30. You will find the routine that works for you, but always do less than your limit.

One more post on core strength before continuing with upper body tuning. Learning to move this way will allow you to relax your neck more and relax your lower back. (Incidentally, it's also crucial to know how to do this if you're a tango dancer who wants to do amazing boleos).

Lie on the floor, knees bent, and find your abs. Then:

1. Leave one leg bent and straighten the other so it is resting completely on the floor.
2. Slightly suck your lower abs (just above your pelvis) down towards the floor, feeling your pelvis tip slightly down into the floor.
3. As your abs contract, your leg is lifted up in the air.
4. Slowly release your abs and let your leg return to the floor.
5. Remind yourself to relax the rest of your body.
6. Do this as many times as you can, but a few times less than your limit, so it doesn't feel like "work". You want to be interested in doing it again tomorrow.
7. Switch legs and repeat.

Refinements of this:

1. Stretch the straight leg as far away from you as you can


2. Make sure your neck is relaxed (easier to do if your butt is also relaxed).
   
3. Use a leg weight (don't do this at first. Concentrate on relaxed, smooth motion without a weight. You may never want to use a leg weight.)

If you feel like you are using your quadriceps a lot, refocus on contracting your abs, letting your pelvis tilt, and using that motion to "magically" lift your leg into the air.

The secret to effortless vibrato, shifting, high position work, and a lot of other things is using your back to lift your arms. If you're playing the viola, and especially if you are slight of build, please do this exercise to avoid injury.

As usual, do fewer repetitions than your limit. You want it to not feel like work, so that you'll be likely to do it the next day. However, you have to do at least 1! :-)

I'll post a video of this as soon as I get a chance.

1. Stand without holding your instrument or bow, in good posture. Arms at your sides.
2. Let your shoulders rotate back and let your shoulder blades sink down in back, causing your arms to lift in front of you, sticking straight out in front.
3. Feel your shoulder blades slightly move towards each other as you swing your arms out to the sides, palms down.
4. Flip palms up
5. Stretch your hands away from you as much as possible and feel the muscles under your arms and around your shoulder blades as you press your arms upwards, ending with them straight up in the air over your head, palms facing towards each other.
6. Again, stretch your hands as high as you can as you "dive" back, returning your arms to the side, palms up. As your arms get closer to horizontal, feel your shoulder blades sinking down into their "slots".
7. Flip palms down
8. Slowly swing arms to front
9. Return arms to your sides.

Try doing this while continuously moving your knees, to keep your neck relaxed.

The most important parts of this exercise are using your back and underarms to raise your arms above your head, and letting the shoulder blades sink as your arms come back down.

Looking at my original entry for the Magic Forehead, I realize that I teach it with a few more steps now. Here they are:

1. Sniff and Toss.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Count to 5. With each count, relax the right side of the back of your neck, down to your shoulder, even more.
4. Breathe in and out a few times to make sure your shelf is still floating.


5. Open the back of your jaw a little, leaving your mouth closed. Feel your neck relax in that area.
6. Feel like someone is suspending you from the point on your head where your hair makes a swirl (the back top of head). That will relax your neck even more.
7. Now let your eyeballs roll left, as if they're looking out of the corner of your left eye. Eyes are still closed.
8. Let your eyes slide down your nose, like they're closing even more, until your forehead relaxes.

Using the Magic Forehead once you have achieved it:

1. Keeping your forehead relaxed, let your eyes swing up so that they're "looking" at the end of your fingerboard where your left hand would be.


2. Swing your left hand up to that place.


3. Play a passage with your new forehead feeling, calmly being able to "see" in your mind how each finger looks as it goes down on the fingerboard. Enjoy that new relaxed, aware feeling!

For fast finger work, you will need an additional exercise, which I will post shortly.

I either teach this during the Minuets in Book 1 or during Hunters' Chorus in Book 2, depending on the student. Both of these pieces benefit from loose right hand knuckle movement, and the ability to "catch" the bow in your hand after taking a short up bow. Here's how to practice:

1. take a handkerchief, rag, or some piece of cloth in your hand. Hold it lightly with all fingers and thumb.
2. fling the hanky from your hand, straightening all fingers and thumb.
3. pick up the hanky, curving all fingers and thumb.
4. practice the same motions (straightening and curving fingers/thumb) without the hanky.
5. practice the same motions while holding your bow in the air or while resting it on the strings of the violin.

To use in Minuets or Hunters' Chorus to catch the bow in the hand after a short up bow:

1. prepare for the up bow by making sure the elbow is relaxed and "dangly". Place the bow on the string somewhere in the lower half. Near the balance point is a good place, but experiment!


2. nudge the bow by dipping the elbow in towards your body.


3. as the bow moves, "pick up the hanky" with your fingers so that the bow ends up just barely off the string.


4. experiment: as you nudge the elbow more quickly, you can "toss" the bow up with the elbow, and "catch" it with your hanky fingers.

These are some places in Minuet 1 and Hunters' Chorus; in Minuets, you can try this any time you have 2 up bows next to each other.