Tone

Focus

Every violinist must develop an individual voice, says Aaron Rosand

2015-10-09T00:00:00Z

The American maestro discusses the importance of developing a distinctive tone

Focus

The viola should sound like a human voice, says Nobuko Imai

2015-06-18T00:00:00Z

Innate sympathy for the instrument combined with solid training were the backdrop to Amsterdam Conservatoire professor Nobuko Imai's love-affair with the viola

Blogs

Playing with gut strings and a period bow refines your awareness of sound

2015-03-05T00:00:00Z

Chiaroscuro Quartet second violinist Pablo Hernán Benedí explains why the ensemble chooses to perform entirely on period set-ups

Article

Violinist Maxim Vengerov on blending your sound with other instruments

2015-02-26T00:00:00Z

You have to forget sometimes that you play the violin. Use it to express the sound of the music and to integrate with the orchestra' Violinist Maxim Vengerov gives a masterclass on Britten’s Violin Concerto at the Royal Academy of Music, London. The full 50-minute video is available ...

Focus

Is playing on the same string the only way to achieve even tone colour?

2014-12-29T00:00:00Z

How much and where should we change strings in order to obtain different colour and different intensity, asks Rok KlopÄiÄ

Focus

Personality is no longer encouraged in musical performance

2014-09-16T00:00:00Z

Not too long ago mass audiences and critics alike revered overtly personal performances, yet today superimposing one's personality over that of the composer is regarded as poor musicianship, writes Henry Roth

Focus

Singing during practice can help improve sound and characterisation, says cellist Laurence Lesser

2014-09-07T00:00:00Z

Learning to listen to your voice constructively isn't easy, but it helps to set musical feeling directly into motion according to the New England Conservatory professor

Focus

Bringing singing to violin technique: Charles-Auguste de Bériot

2014-02-20T00:00:00Z

The Belgian pedagogue, who was born on this day in 1802, combined elements of the human voice with the virtuosity of Paganini in his violin treatise. Robin Stowell considers his Méthode de violon alongside the Violinschule by Joseph Joachim and Andreas Moser The violin ...

Focus

7 ways to improve your tone

2014-01-28T00:00:00Z

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 100 years

Article

Simon Fischer: The Secrets of Tone Production

2013-11-01T00:00:00Z

Simon Fischer, writer of The Strad's long-running Basics column, introduces his teaching film The Secrets of Tone Production on All Bowed String Instruments. Featuring simple but instantly effective exercises for building, improving or maintaining fine and sensitive tone on any bowed string instrument. All demonstrated on the violin by ...