The most difficult of all things for a student of all music;...finding a highly skilled passionate and authoritative teacher to show them the how and why of perfect technique.
the way you tie these fundamental techniques back to the masters of the tradition is extremely helpful to reinforce the importance of mindful practice. i'm a longtime guitarist with a few years experience playing the double bass, and i'm finally turning my attention to violin after buying one during the pandemic lockdown that has just been collecting dust on its case. being classically trained on other string instruments makes it natural to feel when my wrist is bent or my fingers tense that i'm doing something wrong, but your videos for beginners have been more helpful than any others i've seen when it comes to showing the most fundamental aspects of holding and playing the instrument correctly. i can tell you are having fun with it but also take this stuff very seriously, thank you sincerely!
These Videos will live forever in youtube as some of the best violin class tutorials.. Thankyou Kevin! We understand how busy your schedule is, and many thanks for sharing your knowledge..Much Love!
That's close to my timeline, and it feels good to finally start practicing seriously again! I do plan on going "all the way" with these lessons, and I am planning on some serious performance videos in the near future.
That's great to hear. Stick with it and don't get discouraged. It's a rewarding instrument and the practice and hard work always pays off. Happy playing!
@@diegoserrato4016 Thank you so much for your words. I know i will not be discouraged. I can even play my favorite byzantine hymns step by step. Its so flexible and so expressive, almost like a human voice.
An excellent video is the one that is re-watchable. I love those kinds of videos and movies, because I don't get bored to watch it more than one time, and the more I watch, the more things I understand. I love your philosophy on a relaxed practicing and playing and how you emphasize it in every video. I am not an advanced violinist, but follow your guides for 2 years (but real practice time is just about 1 year), I almost have no problem with pain or tension. My bow hold is not perfect, though good enough, pencil is still an all-the-time-in-bag item with me for practicing the wrist and right finger. Now comes another lesson that I can train my left hand even when I don't have the violin. Hope for more videos!
You and your channel are a miracle! Thank you for putting so much passion in your teachings. Love how thorough you are. Ordering your 1st book on Amazon now because I’m in Canada 🍻
I learnt vibrato like this in 2 weeks, and i did the same things when i first started playing. People dont consider the physiology of playing an instrument.
That's very interesting, a major part would be getting it correct the first time and then improving upon it. Our development of bad habits is what slows us down, I had a similar experience with piano and my finger placement (piano is much easier to play I will say) my teacher told me I was doing it the wrong way, had i done it correct the first time it would have been something I wouldn't have to worry about but I then had to relearn my finger placement (took a while). Kevin's videos on this channel really are helpful, not to mention entertaining
@@songfulmusicofsongs think of the anatomy of the movement u are making with your hand, it require top knuckle tendons to be made flexible. the difference is remarkable when you compare afterwards from good vibrato left hand to a normally stiffened right hand. so i considered that and thought if there could be manual exercises to speed that process up. I cant remember what i did exactly as it was so many years but I remember one exercise which was to press all 4 finger tips firmly against a table or start with one finger and move that joint back and forth till it got flexible, did that for like 30 minutes straight, applied more pressure and sooner or later your fingers can do solid vibrato in just days if not weeks. Also mimicing the motion on a pen could work afterwards but the combination of force applied to the table with ur tips and the movements is a lot better work out to get them in shape than trying to do it on a violin
"Even while lying down" . . . Well looks like I have no excuse to not practice all night while I sleep now. Thank you so much for this video, I love all your other ones and your advise.
I have actually done all of these stretches and exercises while lying in bed, especially lately. Between violin making, writing books, and making these videos, sometimes it's the only chance I get! Especially lately = many more videos to come!
Thankyou, for being an encouraging teacher, sharing great tips which stump beginners about to give up. I found that using a violin strap and ir keaning the scroll on the music stand made frustration end and playing a joy😅
Kevin, Another great video Sir. I don’t know how I missed this one. There’s so much great information in this video. I wish I’d seen this video when I first started playing. However, I haven’t been able to play for the past seven months due to an injury to my left hand, which resulted in the temporary inability to move one of my fingers. I have about 80-percent range of motion now and I’m retraining my hand. It’s a struggle. I’m going to mark and use your video to retrain my left hand. Sorry I didn’t get back to you regarding one of your last videos. I’ve watched most of your videos, including the DVD. I think that the length of the videos is about right. I also appreciate your showmanship and respect for the violin. The violin is much more than an instrument for me. Kind Regards, David
I wish you the very best, and hope that you can recover fully. And yes, I am also very passionate about my instruments. I really have to hold back sometimes when making these videos so I don't come across as completely crazy and obsessed. :)
Hey, I just started playing violin because of a foot injury but I really appreciate these exercises, I first played guitar now violin but honestly I feel like these exercises help me with both.🕊
@@kevinleeluthier I know how much time and effort it takes to make a video. I'm Korean but I can understand this lecture correctly, and It was a lecture with your sincerity and passion. More important was the lecture that was really needed. It has been a week since I started playing the violin, but it was very hard because of my left hand and fingers. Thank you very much.
I would have needed that lesson during the years of violin lessons I had when I was a child. But then my bones and muscles were not so tight of course. Good to hear one can still regain more flexibility even at older age.
I got a random antique violin along with its own case and was really in tough shape. Not because it was old. But rather, it had damage as if it was used to beat a hard surface. The front plate of the violin was...oh god...it's like someone used a fountain pen and scratched all over the damn thing while the backplate was almost pristine. It had wrappings for strings and sticker slapped on the fingerboard from 1923, indicating that whoever originally got this violin tried to or was forced to learn but eventually gave up really early. I worked on fixing the bare necessities but still have these obvious chip marks on the sides that I'm keeping indefinitely after hearing what you were saying the first 2 or so minutes. The frustration bit kind of reminded me of how the violin could have been treated to end this way, and to me it really hit close to home as to how I started some 13 years ago. I have many other violins but this particular one stood out to me and have been using this beaten piece of work wherever I go.
you have really helped my playing. your simple explanations are brilliant. but this lukeyly have never bin a problem of mine, i think i have an advantage from playing guitar for 16 years before picing up a violin. my forth finger was strong and my wrist was straight from day one. :D
imho - one of Paganini's big secrets was that ..his favourite instrument to play was the GeeTar! When off stage, he was rarely out of the company of what he called his 'closest friend'. As a young teenager, so fearful was his mother of the instruments grasp on him, that she told him a story of a dream she had with a Red Devil playing a guitar (presumably in the hope of pushing him away from playing one :) I think, the two instruments share a symbiotic relationship (you could 'sort of' say the guitar is a scaled up violin after all). I believe playing the guitar and learning the techniques of the instrument (and probably making a few up himself), he found the ideas and techniques (and strengths/abilities gained) could apply to the violin. Not just the left hand (fretting hand) but even many techniques from the right hand (picking/plucking hand). Being an overall larger instrument, it may have worked to help his strength and flexibility on violin too. Plus, he didn't need to focus on finger intonation while doing all this on guitar ;) I'd wager he bounced ideas and techniques off both instruments once he became proficient. On a side note: It might explain (in some small part) as to why his sound was so 'shocking' at first (to the mainstream violin community). Perhaps the sound of guitar (a 'commoners' instrument with gypsy/wanderer/beggar/wild/suggestive connotations) was being expressed in some of his violin playing. Peace.
And if you aren't aware, Paganini played the mandolin BEFORE ever touching a violin. (His father was a professional mandolin player.) And yes, it as well as playing the guitar, viola, etc., all helped him become a much greater musician overall. Each new instrument someone learns to play will add more depth to everything they do, as long as the other instruments don't become too much of a distraction!
The revelation that there is only one position and one scale was profound. It has caused me to have molded my telecaster ad violin playing to one system. Ditched classical vibrato. I vibrato on violin like clapton and Hendrix. I use a 7/8 size bow. I can play wind cries Mary with the violin on my armpit without a shoulder rest. Working on Moto perpetuo
Do not overlook the fact that he apparently learnt mandolin first.Hence his chordal approach in his compositions. If all violinists did a year of mandolin study the fingerboard would be opened up to them.
Thanks! And I'm working on another right now. Though the crazy part is: the more videos I make the less violin making and practicing I get. Although, if you look at it right, like my violins, these videos (for better or for worse) will also live forever. :)
@@kevinleeluthier you're honestly and inspiration my friend. Also honored you take time to reply with how busy you are, I just saw the video of the Tangle violin and was floored with how much you put into it. The fact you can play, make and pass on knowledge of the violin makes you the type of artist that is hard to find in any media.
but then i drop the violin. i suppose i must get a shoulder rest. thank you for all of these, and i am glad your neck is better, however i am thinking of getting one of those braces for myself, and attaching the tailpin to it. i wish i could just bolt it to my neck, somehow, because the whole reason i play with a bent wrist is simply to support the instrument.
@@kevinleeluthier thank you - i spoke too soon - i have been doing the suggested exercises, and suddenly it all seems to be coming together. i can even get the beginnings of a vibrato, which seemed impossible before. very much appreciate your help - thank you for being there.
Interesting. I've spent a month playing bebop heads with the fiddle under my armpit. I can play Grapeĺli and Ponty stuff. I would not have believed how little time it took.
The initial stretches were no issue, never automatically bent the wrist back -- probably because of years of playing guitar and mandolin. But starting to extend the elbow -- astonishing increase of difficulty
So I bought a viola and never had the problem with the collapsed wrist. Some instruments seem to be more intuitive in some things than others. But some areas seem to be more difficult.
Great video! I am learning the violin online (without a personal teacher) and they said that you should not press your thumb onto the neck of the violin but when i don't do that i can't produce a nice sound, i suspect because my fingers don't enough pressure to press the strings. Finger strength is not a problem because i played guitar for 12 years, that is where i got the habit of pushing the thumb to the neck. What do you think is the problem?
You don't really need finger strength to stop the strings. The safe and ergonomic approach, as recommended by top teachers like Simon Fischer, is to drop onto the string sharply to change the vibration, but only to the minimum required. At least in lower positions, this should be well short of the fingerboard. Then you immediately release to the absolute minimum required to sustain the tone. Use the flat of the finger, which means aiming for the gap below the string with the tip. The thumb should be almost completely relaxed. Here is a good tutorial - it's for viola, but applies equally to the violin: ruclips.net/video/L3gTq5o9nTw/видео.html In her mid-teens, Nicola Benedetti's teacher insisted she stop everything else for a few weeks till she had mastered this skill of playing with a relaxed left hand. She says it was transformational.
My wrists are strong from too many sign language! I'm left handed and I fingerspell with the left hand. Years of practice, I can keep my wrist relaxed and straight while moving only my fingers. When I held a violin for the first time my wrist didn't bend. :)
The most difficult of all things for a student of all music;...finding a highly skilled passionate and authoritative teacher to show them the how and why of perfect technique.
the way you tie these fundamental techniques back to the masters of the tradition is extremely helpful to reinforce the importance of mindful practice. i'm a longtime guitarist with a few years experience playing the double bass, and i'm finally turning my attention to violin after buying one during the pandemic lockdown that has just been collecting dust on its case. being classically trained on other string instruments makes it natural to feel when my wrist is bent or my fingers tense that i'm doing something wrong, but your videos for beginners have been more helpful than any others i've seen when it comes to showing the most fundamental aspects of holding and playing the instrument correctly. i can tell you are having fun with it but also take this stuff very seriously, thank you sincerely!
These Videos will live forever in youtube as some of the best violin class tutorials.. Thankyou Kevin! We understand how busy your schedule is, and many thanks for sharing your knowledge..Much Love!
Thank you so much! On the other hand, I'm just getting started. The real "fun and enlightenment" comes later, in the more advanced lessons!
@@kevinleeluthier eagerly waiting for them! Thankyou Kevin!
This guy is awesome. I enjoy every video as I relearn they violin after a 30 year hiatus
That's close to my timeline, and it feels good to finally start practicing seriously again! I do plan on going "all the way" with these lessons, and I am planning on some serious performance videos in the near future.
I Just started the violin at 41 on my own and i love it. Thank you so much for sharing these techniques. God bless you.
That's great to hear. Stick with it and don't get discouraged. It's a rewarding instrument and the practice and hard work always pays off. Happy playing!
@@diegoserrato4016 Thank you so much for your words. I know i will not be discouraged. I can even play my favorite byzantine hymns step by step. Its so flexible and so expressive, almost like a human voice.
An excellent video is the one that is re-watchable. I love those kinds of videos and movies, because I don't get bored to watch it more than one time, and the more I watch, the more things I understand. I love your philosophy on a relaxed practicing and playing and how you emphasize it in every video. I am not an advanced violinist, but follow your guides for 2 years (but real practice time is just about 1 year), I almost have no problem with pain or tension. My bow hold is not perfect, though good enough, pencil is still an all-the-time-in-bag item with me for practicing the wrist and right finger. Now comes another lesson that I can train my left hand even when I don't have the violin. Hope for more videos!
Yes you’re finally back! i started watching your videos when i was a beginner
I am glad you're back. Whenever I see one of your videos I am inspired to come back to playing the violin.
Thank you teacher.
This is very helpful. You’re a wonderful teacher, thank you!
Without seeing student's faces, it's tough to know how things come across. Thanks for your comment!
You and your channel are a miracle! Thank you for putting so much passion in your teachings. Love how thorough you are. Ordering your 1st book on Amazon now because I’m in Canada 🍻
Thank you so much. Also, every book really does help make these videos possible, so make sure to leave a review at amazon!
Thanks Kevin ! Not only you are a fine presenter but you have very essential things to say!
Excellent! Tame the tiger. Make the strong of weak part for own purpose.
I learnt vibrato like this in 2 weeks, and i did the same things when i first started playing. People dont consider the physiology of playing an instrument.
That's very interesting, a major part would be getting it correct the first time and then improving upon it. Our development of bad habits is what slows us down, I had a similar experience with piano and my finger placement (piano is much easier to play I will say) my teacher told me I was doing it the wrong way, had i done it correct the first time it would have been something I wouldn't have to worry about but I then had to relearn my finger placement (took a while). Kevin's videos on this channel really are helpful, not to mention entertaining
Agreed
What exercises did you use for vibrato?
@@songfulmusicofsongs think of the anatomy of the movement u are making with your hand, it require top knuckle tendons to be made flexible. the difference is remarkable when you compare afterwards from good vibrato left hand to a normally stiffened right hand. so i considered that and thought if there could be manual exercises to speed that process up.
I cant remember what i did exactly as it was so many years but I remember one exercise which was to press all 4 finger tips firmly against a table or start with one finger and move that joint back and forth till it got flexible, did that for like 30 minutes straight, applied more pressure and sooner or later your fingers can do solid vibrato in just days if not weeks.
Also mimicing the motion on a pen could work afterwards but the combination of force applied to the table with ur tips and the movements is a lot better work out to get them in shape than trying to do it on a violin
@@goodgoyim9459 Thank you. That's interesting. I thought the main problem were the muscles and not the flexibility.
I love this guys whole style he is great and gives good advice
Great video, the only person who understands me in this world. Thank you very much.
"Even while lying down" . . .
Well looks like I have no excuse to not practice all night while I sleep now.
Thank you so much for this video, I love all your other ones and your advise.
I have actually done all of these stretches and exercises while lying in bed, especially lately. Between violin making, writing books, and making these videos, sometimes it's the only chance I get! Especially lately = many more videos to come!
Love your last sentence!
I've just been doing this laying down..as I don't sleep much it's a brilliant time to do the exercise.
Thankyou, for being an encouraging teacher, sharing great tips which stump beginners about to give up. I found that using a violin strap and ir keaning the scroll on the music stand made frustration end and playing a joy😅
Thank you for your advice. Always worth watching!
You are so welcome!
Love this❤️. Helping me hands feel more relaxed doing these stretches.
Thank you for these videos
Great tips! I love your simplistic approach to violin playing. Can't wait for the next video!
Magical stuff yet again from your channel, thanks so much for sharing.
Kevin,
Another great video Sir. I don’t know how I missed this one. There’s so much great information in this video. I wish I’d seen this video when I first started playing. However, I haven’t been able to play for the past seven months due to an injury to my left hand, which resulted in the temporary inability to move one of my fingers. I have about 80-percent range of motion now and I’m retraining my hand. It’s a struggle. I’m going to mark and use your video to retrain my left hand.
Sorry I didn’t get back to you regarding one of your last videos. I’ve watched most of your videos, including the DVD. I think that the length of the videos is about right. I also appreciate your showmanship and respect for the violin. The violin is much more than an instrument for me.
Kind Regards,
David
I wish you the very best, and hope that you can recover fully. And yes, I am also very passionate about my instruments. I really have to hold back sometimes when making these videos so I don't come across as completely crazy and obsessed. :)
Hey, I just started playing violin because of a foot injury but I really appreciate these exercises, I first played guitar now violin but honestly I feel like these exercises help me with both.🕊
Kevin, I implemented this and it immediately made a difference. Thank you!
Thanks for the advice Kevin!
He seemed to see a living Paganini! He played with the bridge without a doubt :))
Hi, love this video. Thanks for the exercises. I'm a beginner violinist, so I am hopeful this will help me.
I love hearing you talk lol
Ur so informative, subscribed! 🎻
ty very very very much. it's very helpful lecture.
I'm glad you appreciate it. It takes so much more time making a video than teaching a lesson in person!
@@kevinleeluthier I know how much time and effort it takes to make a video.
I'm Korean but I can understand this lecture correctly, and It was a lecture with your sincerity and passion.
More important was the lecture that was really needed.
It has been a week since I started playing the violin, but it was very hard because of my left hand and fingers.
Thank you very much.
Amazing, as always!
So fantastic! Thank you.
Great narration so vocally varied could be great actor storytelling for kids.
Thank you for uploading! We miss you.
I would have needed that lesson during the years of violin lessons I had when I was a child. But then my bones and muscles were not so tight of course. Good to hear one can still regain more flexibility even at older age.
It is just marvellous advice and help! Thank you from my heart!
You are so welcome.
Good exercise
Thank you. I do it all the time.
working on it! matur suksma. greeting from bali island
Genius. Thank you Maestro!
I got a random antique violin along with its own case and was really in tough shape. Not because it was old. But rather, it had damage as if it was used to beat a hard surface. The front plate of the violin was...oh god...it's like someone used a fountain pen and scratched all over the damn thing while the backplate was almost pristine. It had wrappings for strings and sticker slapped on the fingerboard from 1923, indicating that whoever originally got this violin tried to or was forced to learn but eventually gave up really early. I worked on fixing the bare necessities but still have these obvious chip marks on the sides that I'm keeping indefinitely after hearing what you were saying the first 2 or so minutes. The frustration bit kind of reminded me of how the violin could have been treated to end this way, and to me it really hit close to home as to how I started some 13 years ago. I have many other violins but this particular one stood out to me and have been using this beaten piece of work wherever I go.
you have really helped my playing. your simple explanations are brilliant.
but this lukeyly have never bin a problem of mine, i think i have an advantage from playing guitar for 16 years before picing up a violin. my forth finger was strong and my wrist was straight from day one. :D
I don’t even play violin, I play guitar. But how he talks is just so captivating and enjoyable!
Thank you so much! Every positive comment and "share" is wonderful and helps!
Bravo
imho - one of Paganini's big secrets was that ..his favourite instrument to play was the GeeTar!
When off stage, he was rarely out of the company of what he called his 'closest friend'. As a young teenager, so fearful was his mother of the instruments grasp on him, that she told him a story of a dream she had with a Red Devil playing a guitar (presumably in the hope of pushing him away from playing one :)
I think, the two instruments share a symbiotic relationship (you could 'sort of' say the guitar is a scaled up violin after all).
I believe playing the guitar and learning the techniques of the instrument (and probably making a few up himself), he found the ideas and techniques (and strengths/abilities gained) could apply to the violin. Not just the left hand (fretting hand) but even many techniques from the right hand (picking/plucking hand).
Being an overall larger instrument, it may have worked to help his strength and flexibility on violin too. Plus, he didn't need to focus on finger intonation while doing all this on guitar ;)
I'd wager he bounced ideas and techniques off both instruments once he became proficient.
On a side note:
It might explain (in some small part) as to why his sound was so 'shocking' at first (to the mainstream violin community). Perhaps the sound of guitar (a 'commoners' instrument with gypsy/wanderer/beggar/wild/suggestive connotations) was being expressed in some of his violin playing.
Peace.
And if you aren't aware, Paganini played the mandolin BEFORE ever touching a violin. (His father was a professional mandolin player.) And yes, it as well as playing the guitar, viola, etc., all helped him become a much greater musician overall. Each new instrument someone learns to play will add more depth to everything they do, as long as the other instruments don't become too much of a distraction!
I play guitar since I was 5 years old playing and learning to play the violin correctly. I believe has helped me immensely with my guitar music.
The revelation that there is only one position and one scale was profound. It has caused me to have molded my telecaster ad violin playing to one system. Ditched classical vibrato. I vibrato on violin like clapton and Hendrix. I use a 7/8 size bow. I can play wind cries Mary with the violin on my armpit without a shoulder rest. Working on Moto perpetuo
Thanks!
Thank you teacher.
Do not overlook the fact that he apparently learnt mandolin first.Hence his chordal approach in his compositions.
If all violinists did a year of mandolin study the fingerboard would be opened up to them.
dude so glad you're making videos again!
Thanks! And I'm working on another right now. Though the crazy part is: the more videos I make the less violin making and practicing I get. Although, if you look at it right, like my violins, these videos (for better or for worse) will also live forever. :)
@@kevinleeluthier Thank you for everything you make.
@@kevinleeluthier you're honestly and inspiration my friend. Also honored you take time to reply with how busy you are, I just saw the video of the Tangle violin and was floored with how much you put into it. The fact you can play, make and pass on knowledge of the violin makes you the type of artist that is hard to find in any media.
Another good exercise I've found, for strengthening the little finger is to play bass for about 30 yrs. or so. But you can only do it a few times.
but then i drop the violin. i suppose i must get a shoulder rest. thank you for all of these, and i am glad your neck is better, however i am thinking of getting one of those braces for myself, and attaching the tailpin to it. i wish i could just bolt it to my neck, somehow, because the whole reason i play with a bent wrist is simply to support the instrument.
The right shoulder rest can make it feel like it is "bolted" to your neck, though once it feels secure, most prefer at least a little freedom. :)
@@kevinleeluthier thank you - i spoke too soon - i have been doing the suggested exercises, and suddenly it all seems to be coming together. i can even get the beginnings of a vibrato, which seemed impossible before. very much appreciate your help - thank you for being there.
Interesting. I've spent a month playing bebop heads with the fiddle under my armpit. I can play Grapeĺli and Ponty stuff. I would not have believed how little time it took.
The initial stretches were no issue, never automatically bent the wrist back -- probably because of years of playing guitar and mandolin. But starting to extend the elbow -- astonishing increase of difficulty
My god! No word!!!
So I bought a viola and never had the problem with the collapsed wrist. Some instruments seem to be more intuitive in some things than others. But some areas seem to be more difficult.
Great video!
I am learning the violin online (without a personal teacher) and they said that you should not press your thumb onto the neck of the violin but when i don't do that i can't produce a nice sound, i suspect because my fingers don't enough pressure to press the strings.
Finger strength is not a problem because i played guitar for 12 years, that is where i got the habit of pushing the thumb to the neck. What do you think is the problem?
You don't really need finger strength to stop the strings. The safe and ergonomic approach, as recommended by top teachers like Simon Fischer, is to drop onto the string sharply to change the vibration, but only to the minimum required. At least in lower positions, this should be well short of the fingerboard. Then you immediately release to the absolute minimum required to sustain the tone. Use the flat of the finger, which means aiming for the gap below the string with the tip. The thumb should be almost completely relaxed.
Here is a good tutorial - it's for viola, but applies equally to the violin:
ruclips.net/video/L3gTq5o9nTw/видео.html
In her mid-teens, Nicola Benedetti's teacher insisted she stop everything else for a few weeks till she had mastered this skill of playing with a relaxed left hand. She says it was transformational.
New video hell yeah!!
Any exercises for turning the wrist more?
I support the violin with my wrist. No plan to change.
Your intonation won't change either!
I subbed
Am I the only one who never had a bent wrist?
Yes. :)
My wrists are strong from too many sign language! I'm left handed and I fingerspell with the left hand. Years of practice, I can keep my wrist relaxed and straight while moving only my fingers. When I held a violin for the first time my wrist didn't bend. :)
The quoute at the end....hope its true :)
The secret is practice 40 hours a day
#lingling #twoset
F*** that and f*** Ling Ling
Ling ling hours