All Focus articles
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FocusCan bowing-wrist suppleness improve intonation?
John Krakenberger has made a number of interesting connections between good tuning and loosening the bowing wrist in his teaching
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Cellist Pablo Casals on expressive intonation
The great artist believed that 50 per cent of a player's total dramatic power lay in exaggerated intonation, writes former pupil Pamela Hind O'Malley
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Review
Mastering intonation, by cello professor Antonio Lysy
Cellist Antonio Lysy provides exercises to help you play in tune every time you put your finger on the string
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Focus
8 ways to improve your intonation
Tips and tricks for playing in tune – or giving the impression of playing in tune
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Focus
How the violin trade has changed since the Queen’s accession
In this article from 2012, Philip Kass examines how everything from manufacturing to trade in the Far East have all changed during the Queen’s reign
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Focus
Conquering performance nerves: I'm great in practice but don't perform so well on the day
Brian Hodges and Diana Allan answer student questions on coping with stage fright
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Harnessing breathing to improve your string playing
Breathing naturally is one of the first principles of Alexander teaching - and it's a must for anyone who suffers from stage fright, says Joseph Sanders
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Focus
7 techniques to combat stage fright
Are you suffering from stage fright? Laurinel Owen gives advice on overcoming this common affliction
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Focus
Martelé: Essential foundations for a top-quality bow technique
Rictor Noren offers grounding, exercises and repertoire suggestions to help you work on your martelé stroke
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Focus
Movement in the bow hand and wrist, by violin professor Boris Kuschnir
Kuschnir explains how to master control of your sound through correct use of the bow
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From the Archive: How to memorise solos
The art of memorising can be mastered by even those who believe they have no aptitude in the area, wrote Edwin H. Pierce in The Strad's December 1894 issue
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How to develop left-hand finger strength
Up and down movement is the basis of left-hand technique and many pedagogues have invented fiendish exercises to improve it. Rok Klopčič takes a look at some of them
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Debate
Slow practice should be used only when needed as a learning tool
Are you wasting your time? As musicians we should be doing more to question the standard warm-up and practice regimes, writes violist Paul Neubauer
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Focus
Technique: How to achieve clean and effortless definition in the left hand, by Grigory Kalinovsky
Professor of violin at Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, with some exercises to improve your left-hand articulation. From 2018
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Focus
7 ways to improve your tone
The elusive and deeply personal subject of tone production is pondered in the following quotes taken from the pages of The Strad over the past 130 years
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Focus
8 ways to develop musical expression and individuality
Views on cultivating personal style and engaging your audience from 130 years of The Strad
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Focus
10 tips on maximising tone quality & projection
Advice on projecting your best sound from over 130 years of The Strad's archives
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Focus
How to produce a strong, uninhibited sound without pressure, by cellist Joel Krosnick
The former Juilliard Quartet cellist explained to Laurinel Owen how to effectively transmit energy from your body to the instrument in 2005
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Focus
Singing during practice can help improve sound and characterisation
Cellist Laurence Lesser suggests that learning to listen to your voice constructively isn't easy, but it helps to set musical feeling directly into motion
