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All playing articles
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Focus10 views on dynamics for bowed strings
Advice on how to produce effective dynamic contrasts from The Strad archives
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Focus
Can 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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Premium ❘ Feature
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
10 tips for performing from memory
Guidance from The Strad’s archive from how to incorporate memorisation into your practice, what the benefits might be – and when not to bother
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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
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
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Article
Cellist David Finckel on vibrato
Cellist David Finckel introduces the subject of vibrato as part of a series of video demonstrations on cello technique. Vibrato, he says, 'connects the listener to the player's innermost feelings about the music. It should be something that reinforces the music, not something that is painted on top ...
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Focus
6 ways to improve shifting for string players
Advice on how to shift smoothly and cleanly from The Strad archives
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Blogs
Pizzicato technique is often neglected, says violinist Jennifer Pike
There are many ways to vary sound and colour, but beware the perils of playing forte for sustained periods. From 2014
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Premium ❘ Feature
Where should string players look when performing from memory on stage?
Teacher Talk: your string teaching questions answered by our panel of experts. From October 2011
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Review
Book review: The Paganini of the Double Bass: Bottesini in Britain
Stephen Street reviews one of the first works in English on the great 19th-century double bassist Giovanni Bottesini
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Blogs
5 pieces of advice for playing Bach by violinist Lisa Batiashvili
The artist shares her ideas about performing works of the great Baroque composer
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Focus
7 warming up and cooling down exercises for musicians
Suggested warm-ups prior to playing and cool-down stretches following performance and/or practice
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Article
Double bassist François Rabbath demonstrates his crab technique
In honour of François Rabbath, who turns 90 today, we are republishing content from our archive related to the French-Syrian double bassist
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Blogs
A break from string playing can be a constructive experience
With many musicians returning to the stage for the first time in months, violinist Cara Laskaris reflects on her own experiences to offer some words of advice
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Focus
6 tips for improved coordination
Guidance from The Strad’s archive for greater synchronisation between left-hand fingers and bow
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Review
Book review: Musicians in Motion: 100 Exercises with and without Instrument
Ruth Phillips reviews a book about helping musicians improve their posture, build strength and prevent injuries
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Review
The Bridge: Connecting Violin and Fiddle Worlds
Alex Laing reviews a book bringing together two disparate genres of string playing
