Listen to the Past: 7 Tips on Learning Old-Time Fiddle

Learning old-time fiddle requires a lot of research with your ears open to the past. Here are 7 tips on learning how to play old-time fiddle.

Play Bach Better by Improving Your Fifths on Violin

By outlining the tonic and fifth of the harmony in the lowest two voices, Bach gives great solidity to the chord voicing on violin.

Tackling the Beginning of the Elgar Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85

By Emily Wright | From the November-December 2020 issue of Strings magazine Elgar’s Cello Concerto has everything a player could dream of, with soaring them... Read More...

Tackling the Runs in the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto

By Laurie Niles | From the July-August 2020 issue of Strings magazine Leopold Auer might have hit on some truth when he declared that the violin concerto wr... Read More...

Creativity and Technique Come Together in Fritz Kreisler’s ‘Praeludium and Allegro’

Here's a look how to play Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro in the style of Pugnani, a major work for any advancing student of the violin and a joy to play.

A Little Flash: How to Practice David Popper’s Gavotte in D

By Benjamin Whitcomb | From the March/April 2020 issue of Strings Magazine David Popper’s Gavotte in D major is a delightful, short work that intermediate c... Read More...

A Detailed Guide to Practicing Mark Summer’s ‘Julie-O’

By Benjamin Whitcomb The repertoire for cello is vast, and contains many single-movement works that are suitable as encores. One of the most distinctive is ... Read More...

Tips on Nailing Tricky Double-Stops in Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto

By Laurel Thomsen Considered one of the world’s greatest violin concertos since 1845, when it was first premiered by its dedicatee, violinist Ferdinand Davi... Read More...

A Rhythmic Approach to ‘Receita de Samba’

By Catherine Bent As choro—samba’s instrumental precursor—gains international popularity, many string players are drawn to its charms and challenges. It’s a goo... Read More...

Approaching Rhythm in Édouard Lalo’s Sonata for Cello & Piano in A minor

By Miranda Wilson Anyone expecting Édouard Lalo’s cello sonata (1856) to sound anything like his cello concerto is in for a surprise. While the concerto, like ... Read More...