Orchestra is not just about technique, practice, and repetition. You get to have fun playing great music with friends!   Here are a few of our favorite holiday orchestral pieces. There are lots of different arrangements available. Some are a little more at the intermediate level, but many high school and youth orchestras get to perform these. 1. Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson https://youtu.be/DZ98oN9LN98?si=t7hsYeaoHKa7Qejb 2. A Christmas Festival by Leroy Anderson https://you

Practicing at home is essential for improving. Having a good space for practice can make a difference in terms of motivation (a comfortable space is inviting) and effectiveness (make practice time count). You don’t need anything fancy. A few good choices for your practice space, can make practice more enjoyable and productive at home. 1. Choose a Quiet Place Find an area where you won’t be distracted by noise or other people’s activities. A corner of your bedroom or a quiet p

Becoming a better musician isn’t just about talent. Regular practice is essential for development and improvement. You can be the most musically talented person in the world, but without regular practice, you will not improve. Here are some suggestions for daily practice. Regular Practice is Best Practicing 20 minutes every day, is better than practicing for 3 hours once a week. Start with something simple like 5 minutes of scales first. Work on playing slowly and accurately

Joining orchestra can be fun and exciting. You get to perform with a group of people and create beautiful music together. But just like other teams and groups where you do things together, there are rules every member should follow to make the experience as positive for everyone as possible. Good rehearsal and performance habits enable everyone to sound their best and enjoy making music together.   Arrive Prepared and Ready to Play Show respect for others in your orchestra by

In a previous post (Posture - Part 2), we talked about a proper bow hold. Learning how to hold a bow properly and consistently can be...

If you are just starting out with orchestra, the first choice you have to make is choosing an instrument. There are four main stringed instruments that make up an orchestra. Which instrument is right for you? In this post, we’ll go over some of the reasons for choosing a violin, viola, cello, or double bass. Violin The violin is the most popular stringed instrument because of its expressive and beautiful "soprano" sound. It also normally carries the melody because of its high

If you have the basics of shifting down and you want to refine your skills, use these pointers to start working on polishing your...

If you read Part 1 of our series of posts on shifting, you saw the video about basic shifting. That post talked only about shifting...

Maybe you are now good at playing simple melodies with notes on the lower range of your violin or viola. How do you play those really...

Continuing our discussion about posture, let’s talk about the right hand and arm. You hold the bow with your right hand. To have proper...

There are many techniques that contribute to how well you play a musical instrument. Did you know that posture is one of those key...

Need to tune your instrument but don’t have a tuner? Or need a metronome to help you practice? Here are a few online tuners and...

Do you want to make the most of your practice time? Do you want to make sure that the way you practice leads to steady improvement? Here...

Do you want to play an instrument but are worried about taking care of it properly? Here are some tips to help you maintain your...