Technique
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Premium ❘ FeatureTechnique: Octaves for cellists
Cellist Seth Parker Woods on overcoming the fear and finding joy in octave practice
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6 ways to improve left-hand flexibility
Tips from The Strad’s archive on increasing suppleness of movement and reducing tension
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Blogs
How Bach enhances right-hand dexterity: Violinist Rebeca Nuez Suarez
Rebeca Nuez Suarez discusses the contribution the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin by Bach can make to gaining dexterity and strength in the right hand
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Ask the Experts: how to encourage students to trust their ears
A reader asks what can be done to help young students who rely on learning finger placement rather than trusting their ears. Three teachers give their views
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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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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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Ask the Experts: how to help a beginner pupil with intonation issues
Strad readers submit their problems and queries about string playing, teaching or making to our experts
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From the Archive: the difficulties of playing in tune
The Strad writer E. Polonaski bemoans the number of string players with suspect intonation in our March 1893 issue
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Should soloists always perform music from memory?
Pointless and terrifying, or essential for musical communication? Playing without the music arouses some strong opinions, finds Laurinel Owen
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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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Why can't players get vibrato right?
Vibrating need not compromise purity of tone if it's done tastefully, says Tully Potter, who takes to task those who overplay, misplay or completely disown it. From October 2009
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Dealing with Dystonia
Violinist Bernard Zinck shares his experiences of his devastating diagnosis of focal dystonia in his forties and his rehabilitation process to resume playing
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Bow holds of the great violinists
How does the positioning of fingers on the bow affect sound and flexibility? Rok Klopčič examines the bow holds of leading violinists and pedagogues in this extract from October 2007
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Trills and embellishments: exercises from Wilhelmj and Brown’s A Modern School for Violin
Violist Misha Galaganov recommends exercises from August Wilhelmj and James Brown’s out-of-print A Modern School for Violin, to accompany his Technique article in the October 2021 issue
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3 simple trill exercises for players and teachers
Professor of viola and chair of strings at Texas Christian University Misha Galaganov offers technical advice on how to play and teach trills
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Replacing shifts with a stretch: Daniil Shafran’s left-hand technique
Oskar Falta examines Soviet cellist Daniil Shafran’s unique left-hand technique and vibrato in this extract from the September 2021 issue
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Walter Reiter’s exercises to improve Baroque playing
The violinist offers tips on how narrate emotions through the bow when playing Baroque music
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Left-hand agility in Dont Etude op.35 no.8
In this extract from the May 1999 issue, violinist Zakhar Bron shares tips on hand shape and intonation when playing thirds in Dont Etude op.35 no.8
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Avoiding the ‘neutral zone’- what to do with your bow when playing violin trills
Violinist Zakhar Bron discusses creating a smooth line when playing trills in the op.36 no.6 etude by Dont
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Violin Masterclass: Playing Thirds in Dont’s Etude op.35 no.8
Violin teacher Zakhar Bron provides tips for practising the op.35 no.8 Etude by Dont
