adult amateur | Strings Magazine | For players of violin, viola, cello, bass & fiddle

Old Acquaintance to New Friend: Lockdown Inspired a New Relationship with my Violin

By Kate Levin | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazineMy violin is beautiful. Its glossy surface is intermittently disturbed by slight cr... Read More...

Finding My Voice on Cello: From Las Vegas Lounge to Longhair Music

By Brian Forst | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazineMy road to the cello started at age eight, when my parents gave me singing lessons... Read More...

Gear Guide for Adult Amateur String Players

Even if you've been playing for years, it can be useful now and again to peruse a gear refresher. Here you'll find some quick, easy tips about selecting string... Read More...

A Bow of Humility: Setting Aside My Pride Helped Embrace My Childlike Enthusiasm for Music

By Mary Chan | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazineHow hard can it be? I thought, after watching a ten-year-old perform a Bach violin c... Read More...

A Lifelong Partner: How the Cello has Added Immeasurable Richness and Joy to My Life

By George Struble | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazineNovember 2016. I had agreed to gather a string quartet to provide a concert in ... Read More...

adult amateur violin and cello technique

3 Technique Tips Especially for Adult Amateur String Players

Whether it's intonation, vibrato, different styles, or mastering your nerves, it seems there is always a technique that can help improve your stringed instrume... Read More...

Meghan_Cummings_Illustration-by_Olivia_Wise

10 Leadership Tools I Gained From Playing Violin

By Meghan Cummings | From the January/February 2020 issue of Strings MagazineWhen it became clear that playing the violin wasn’t going to constitute my liv... Read More...

Music as a Constant: Finding My Own Way to a Musical Life

By Erin Holt | From the January/February 2020 issue of Strings MagazineMy hand is shaking so much I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold the whole-note double-... Read More...

A Burst of Light: How Finding String Music Ignited a Family and Personal Passion

By Tandum Lett | From the January/February 2020 issue of Strings MagazineAs I walked onstage at the Mark O’Connor string camp with my fellow adult learner ... Read More...

My Second Career: How I Made the Leap from Surgeon to Violin Student

By Dan Guyton | From the January/February 2020 issue of Strings MagazineWearing a black suit, starched white shirt, and purple tie, I was sitting upright, ... Read More...