Full of insight! "The violin can smell fear..."

I started violin at 51. My teacher was Czech.. everything had to be perfect before I could move on. By the 5th lesson..after traveling again in blistery winter weather...an hour to her house ..she still let me only practice one note. I never went back. I met a Hungarian teacher next..her and I had an aperitif before lessons. She told me to stop being so stiff, move my whole body and just follow along with her playing. From the first lesson I played a song. There was only support..without " no, incorrect!".. and i felt progress with each lesson. Yes! Violin smells fear and happiness. Just ride the wave and relax

@taralll

Ай бұрын

I started playing at 51 too. Yes I was so stiff when I started but learned to relax and enjoy the experience.

The last point is something I really needed to hear. "Play as if you're not going to make a mistake." Sounds so obvious now. Thank you so much!

"The violin can smell fear"... Ha ha ha, so true!

I like the last point: Do not overthink. When I practice shifts and I do care about the pitch I do not hit so often, but I hit all the other tones I do not care about. Its funny. Have you ever noticed for example practicing the shift from first to third position with the first finger, that the first finger in the first position almost always hits automatically? :D

Tobiah is my teacher. Just started not too long ago with him and I highly recommend him especially if you find yourself wanting to try without a shoulder rest. He has great attention to detail and anatomy as well. This video content is super original compared to others! Only other that I see doing such detail is Eddy Chen's older videos.

@MurphyMusicAcademy

4 жыл бұрын

Much appreciated!

@timpike4515

Жыл бұрын

Something tells me you don't have a lazy bone in your body. I think some of these tips will help me. Thanks!

Haha! I’ve definitely noticed that my violin can smell my fear!!!😆. When I’m trying something I’m not familiar with I sound horrendous, then I play something I know and I sound almost good!😜

I found this channel after reading your blog article about why the average kid should reach Bruch level by age 12. Because I disagree with the points made in that article, I thought I would find the same closed-minded attitude about learning I initially saw through your article. However, your understanding of the “why” behind the violin is absolutely amazing. This video is a compilation of all the issues my teachers have been trying to reiterate to me for my entire 2 years of playing. While you didn’t say anything someone with a good teacher doesn’t already know, you are much better at explaining these concepts because you seem to have a superb understanding of how violin playing works. You manage to have zero “missing links” in your explanations. I can see your enthusiasm about teaching, and it’s actually heartwarming for me. While I absolutely do not believe that learning is linear and that every kid should have certain things at a certain point, perhaps the point of the Bruch article is how potential in kids often goes untapped. I think that most teachers just don’t care enough to tailor their violin teaching to individual learners. Skilled teachers like you who actually are doing it for the right reasons give me hope that every kid can feel what it is like to achieve something on the violin. I hope this channel gets to more people! (you should totally do a video on how to pick a teacher). 😁

@MurphyMusicAcademy

4 жыл бұрын

The untapped potential of kids is exactly the point of that article, haha. As for my own teaching, my approach is very tailored from student to student. I don’t know if I’d consider progression linear, but you do have to try and understand what is going on in the student’s head, usually subconsciously, that is making them do this or that. Once you figure that out, you can make some pretty big jumps in progress with them. There is a lot of overlap, but still each one is different. Thanks for coming over and giving me another chance. Glad you found it helpful!

How do you only have 7 thousand subs? So underrated, your channel covers such a variety of skills in suach a didactic way. Thank you so much!

You totally described how I psych myself out with playing double stops and chords in tune. I need to stop it-my violin is sensing my fear!

I really like the analogies you make in explaining these techniques. Many times I get how it should look, but explaining how it should feel is a different thing. Also being aware of the "head games" going on is very important. I would always say to my teacher that I enjoy my time playing the violin, why would my body be so tense? Now I'm starting to understand that the tension is a result of "fear" that I'm doing something wrong or the hard part is coming up, or I'm just about "due" for a mistake. The violin does "sense" fear and tension and will not cooperate. You have to learn to control it (and let it think its in charge).

The phrase "strong and wrong" comes to mind I'd rather make a passionate mistake. In my viola playing, I always go for it and usually it turns out better, which continues the chain of self confidence. Always love your videos my friend! It'd be interesting for us to do chamber music now vs how we did it back in 2009!

Brilliant … simply brilliant !

Very helpful, again! Good points, especially about the fear, thanks!!

Thank you. You have helped my playing tremendously!

Your brilliant content speaks to all string instruments. I'm a cellist, and I find all your advice speaks equally as relevant to all the challenges that I am addressing.

Great tips! Thanks for sharing especially about muscle memory !

You hit on something quite profound in the last part of the video about practicing apprehension. Thanks for that insight. Quite helpful.

Love your teaching method!

Thank you. I went from 0 knowledge to being able to make sweet and wild sounds with the violin in 9 months of practice as a 31 year old. I have been learning from many online sources, and I must say thank you over and over. You are kind to share. When finance returns to me I will gladly donate

@0ThrowawayAccount0

Жыл бұрын

I am 33y and my first violin is on its way to my house.

This is brilliant. THANK YOU!!

please do a video about when to use various bow positions. How do I know when to start at the frog, the tip or in the middle etc. Thank you for all the advice you are giving .

Thanks for all the good points, Tobia! I'm teaching for 55 years while having had nearly the same length of professional playing experience. I've found it useful to apply the Heifetz "target practice" concept for students learning to shift positions, dealing with intonation challenges and other LHand issues. He practiced and perfected his tennis serve this way. Kids like to get themselves organized around a sports-like practice model!

fantastic video! thank you Xx

Tip number one, very helpful.

Wow, you're good at this! All of those were helpful.

@MurphyMusicAcademy

4 жыл бұрын

Ur. Kr. It’s not hard when you teach 15 people and repeat these tips constantly, haha

Tobiah - you are consistently answering the questions I have been asking for a long time as an adult learner. Thank you! Any hope of a week's 'summer school' for those of us prepared to get an Airbnb for a week?! Bsa

Thanks Tobia!

I smell a real guru. ... Brilliant! ***** Much of what you said is the basis of jazz ... the ear and heart.

The last one, about over thinking it... Man I need to hear that. I feel like I start practicing and I do well and it's fun, and then I start noticing things that are wrong and trying to fix them, and I fatigue and tension builds, and at some point I realize every attempt is worse and I need to take a break. Then somehow it's better when I come back, and the cycle begins again.

Excellent!!

Love your vidoes! Can you make one with tips for the fourth finger (pinky), especially for small hands? I know there are professionals with hands as small as mine, but I need help with this and I bet I'm not the only one. Everything I play sounds better if I play it with any finger but the fourth.

Thank you for the video :D especially tip #5 I'm a beginner strings player and I play the violin, I am a huge overthinker and very scared of making little mistakes outloud, especially since we have someone in our class who has been play for 3 years and he can be a little critical at times. I've been playing for about 5-6 months now and need the confidence to play and you gave me that so thank you :D

You are so interesting... good videos

This video is kind of a gold mine of information for students

I love your videos! I’m close friends with Micaela and I think I’ve met you before at some point! (Former Preucil student). I’m a violin teacher and I’m so inspired by your channel. Binge-watching your videos now!

@MurphyMusicAcademy

3 жыл бұрын

Hey Julie! I do remember meeting you! So glad you are enjoying the videos! Micaela said you were planning on building your own teaching studio. How’s that going?

That thing you said at the end was really important to me

Love that last point about over thinking: sounds like you were in Top Gun and borrowed Maverick's teaching about over thinking! Nice!

I’m hoping this will help with my current shoulder pain

Your video is very useful. I am sharing with lot of young players in India !

@MurphyMusicAcademy

4 жыл бұрын

Awesome! I'm going international, now? Haha. Thanks for sharing and watching!

Hi, muchas gracias!!!!!!!!

About violin position. That has been a major issue for me. I am self taught to 90% and i have laborated a great lot with this. I am also a gym instructur so the positioning of violin have had to be adjusted due to muscle growth and loss of weight over the years... For me it took some time before i realised the shoulderrest wasnt the main problem. It was the chinrest position. It was at an angle far out that forced both shoulderrest and body. Changing that moving it towards the middle made a big difference for me.

@srinitaaigaura

10 ай бұрын

Try the latest Wittiner ones or the Flesch Models, if not the adjustable chinrests.

I didnt know he is handsome. Hahaha but i learned a lot from this man playing the violin. :)

@MurphyMusicAcademy

4 жыл бұрын

A good haircut will do wonders

as a late beginner I have been having lessons, some in a music school, I'm now realizing that i have learned very little. No foundation. I have learned more from your video in a few minutes. Thanks for your time.

@nickiemcnichols5397

8 ай бұрын

Kathleen, I’m a very late beginner too. I found a teacher about a month into violin ownership. He’s great, he looks at everything I do, and listens. He corrects my mistakes immediately, but never puts me down. I think that I have two advantages right now. 1. I love my student violin and bow. 2. I don’t care if I make mistakes, it’s one of the ways I learn. Foundation IS important, it’s priceless. I teach ukulele beginners, and I harp on foundation before I let them play a song.

@kathleenkeane4364

8 ай бұрын

@@nickiemcnichols5397 Thank you for your encouraging words, I love my violin or fiddle as it's mostly called here, I meet with a group once a week, great people, I want to do some slow airs,but the group only played polkas, jigs, reels, will get someone for the slow airs.this is a new lead of life for me. Thanking you again, stay safe.

Absolutely inspired me to try again without the shoulder rest. I tried hundreds of times, last time it (my violin) flew in the lap of an old lady in the church while I was down shifting, up shifting ok, my throat stops it. Needless to say, ironically, that’s the performance everyone still remembers, not the good ones with shoulder rest. Sorry for the poor English, I’m writing this with a soft recognition translator software. Adieu!

@MurphyMusicAcademy

4 жыл бұрын

You should watch my video on shifting. I go over how to do a proper downward shift without a shoulder rest (or with one, really, as the technique shouldn't be that different.) I hope the violin was ok after that incident!

@csmihaly

4 жыл бұрын

Luckily. Edgar Ross sent it for me from Cremona I would’ve been sad.... back to Playing without shoulder rest, I will definitely watch it, ( I did once already actually) - I still don’t get it..., with shoulder rest the weight and the whole violin rests on my shoulder, gives freedom to the hand, whilst without shoulder rest your left hand has to support more, actually my shoulder gets tension, left hand cramps. I try to watch what you are doing, watched Menuhin, I just can’t do it...., Also, I play relatively ok, on a very humble beginner level, with shoulder rest, now, hard to give that up, and reverberate back to a fool, again, try playing without shoulder rest. Intrigues me, though. Watched rare footages of Charlie Chaplin playing not only without shoulder rest, but even without a chin rest. Now, that’s something.

Hey Murphy, I watched your video about playing violin with out scholderrest, but unfor I still have problem. My violin is not stable without shoulder rest how ever with shoulder rest I also dont viel really comfortable. The problem with out shoulderest is when I put my finger on violin my violin move down and to fixed it i hold violin with my left Thumb. But maximum I am able to play for 2 3 minutes and after that period mucrels under my thumb start to heart and I can play. I dont know what is problem. Would be nice if you make Secound video about how to hold violin without shoulder rest. Best regards.

SHOW SOME EXAMPLES OF STRING CROSSINGS, LIKE THE PASSAGE IN MENDELSONS E MINOR

Hello. Thanks for the great video. Enjoyed it a lot. Could you possibly tell me what chinrest you use please? Thanks

@MurphyMusicAcademy

3 жыл бұрын

Glad to hear! It’s a Berber chinrest

@junioroliver6084

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you sir. Much obliged. 🙏

Super

Nice....

I read the headline ...5 things....,and I immediately thought,shoulder rest would come up,because you are anti shoulder rest,and sure enough,shoulder rest came up! Are there any other online teachers on youtube etc,that you like?

Just got my first fiddle yesterday I don't know any chords yet what are the basic chords and the finger placements? I mainly play country

@Drillgon

Жыл бұрын

I'm sure you've figured out chords by now, but for anyone else reading this, my advice is to play stuff. Just bow two strings and put your fingers down in different ways - some of them will sound good or interesting over tunes and songs. Listen to music with good fiddle players and figure out what they do. Don't need to overcomplicate it too much with a bunch of theory.

Question for another video where you said it's better to vibrate all notes. What do you say of the fast passages with open strings and string crossings? Play them all with 4th?

@MurphyMusicAcademy

4 жыл бұрын

Open strings "speak" by themselves, and I don't ascribe to the idea of avoiding open strings, even the E string, as much as possible. The question with open strings is a question of the bow. You have to make sure the sound of the open string isn't too bright and blends into the sound of the stopped notes. As for fast passages, when I say "vibrate all the notes" there is obviously a limit to this. You can't vibrate the 16th note passages in the 3rd movement of the Tchaikovsky concerto. But you can keep a constant vibrato going over most 8th note passages. For faster passages, there is an art to punctuating certain notes with vibrato to both emphasize the musical line and keep the "electricity" in the sound going.

@ur.kr.2814

4 жыл бұрын

@@MurphyMusicAcademy Interesting about the bow and open strings and the bow! Thank you!

Soft recognition translator voiceware. Voice recognition translator software. Trans recognition voiceware. Whichever is the correct.

Never use a shoulder rest, now never will. Interesting (and now obvious) idea to move the violin to the bow as well as the bow to the violin. Neither are nailed in place.

I wonder if I could get a trial lesson online hahaha I live in the Philippines though.

@MurphyMusicAcademy

Жыл бұрын

We have students all over the world, from American to the British Isles to Iran, to China to Singapore, and everywhere in between! If we can work out a suitable time that works for both yours and our teachers' time zones, then you can get a lesson!

Actually the first explanation seems to me that adds more complications to bowing. What ive seen is that people do whatever that works to change from one string to another, but they arent "changing string" they just reach the other string being in the same level of the first one. So every string feels different to bow, so they can whole bow on some and on others they suffer. The first thing that should be teached is what is the only muscle that needs to move to change the string level on a way that the mechanic of every string is exactly the same (weight aside). Otherwise, resonance can't be achieved and without that you just lose tons of feedback and tools to actually enjoy playing

I recently gave up the bridge and chin strap, so it's more convenient. What to do with my electro Stagg evn if it is heavier in weight (I am Russian, sorry)

@MurphyMusicAcademy

4 жыл бұрын

Do you mean you gave up the Shoulder Rest and Chin Rest? If you took the bridge off a violin it would be impossible to play. Unfortunately, I'm not as familiar with electric violins, though the technique should be much the same. If it is considerably heavier than a normal violin, then either you will just have to get a little stronger, or go ahead and use a shoulder rest if it helps

@fergieann5707

4 жыл бұрын

@@MurphyMusicAcademy not a comfortable chin at stagg, the power is there, thank you

Practing screwing up actually it's SUPER important to get you to perfection, it's not caring how you play but paying attention to small details that matter. Another thing I would recommend is to play 10 hours per day to the point where you lose logical senses of what you think playing a violin is and start to develop a second nature of your own start

Hello, Tobiah. I'm a beginner violinist, and wanted to ask you or others if I buy a tall, full-length mirror to practice proper violin technique, is it better if the mirror is completely vertical (at no angle), or can it be tilted (e.g., leaning with the top against the wall, or on a flat base but with a swivel)? Thank you for any tips.

@MurphyMusicAcademy

4 ай бұрын

I honestly don't think it matters. I currently have mine stuck flat to the wall, but that is just because it's the easiest way to do it with a cheap mirror. If I had an easel mirror I would use that, too

@scottstarkman6321

4 ай бұрын

@@MurphyMusicAcademy Thank you, Tobiah, for kindly replying to my message. I appreciate it.☺

man... everything my teacher showed me that helped me progress as a violin player is directly attacked by all the things you are telling people to do here... except the last part about having no fear and to stop overthinking.

I just watched a video about things you can do to avoid hitting other strings (which I do a lot--hitting them, not avoiding hitting them), and the teacher said that when you're playing on the G string, the elbow should be above the instrument, and when you're on the E string it should be down pretty close to your side. And that you shouldn't do string crossings with the wrist. So you two seem to have opposing views. Is there much disagreement about this point?

@MurphyMusicAcademy

3 жыл бұрын

This is a very common way to teach younger or beginning students. I do a little bit of this in my own teaching, but just like many "starter" techniques, you want to phase it out into the smaller, more efficient motions as the student develops. Even with my younger or more beginner students, once they start playing pieces that use a lot of string crossing (in Suzuki method this is typically Minuet 2, in Volume 1) I don't necessarily try to introduce the wrist movement, but do work with them on using as small of string crossings as they can get away with. A student that starts with the extreme levels of different "arm levels" for each string, and never is grows out of it, however, will run into some major issues as they start playing music with more extensive, faster, and more complicated string crossings, whereupon learning the wrist motion will be an absolute must. So, I elect to introduce aspects of this motion as soon as I think the student is ready, which is often within their first year of playing.

Hilarious! [paraphrase] "...fear...not confident...the violin will do anything it can to make certain of your fear". That's great!

I would add not having the correct setup. Sometimes the distance between the nut and the bridge is not the right one which makes it difficult to play in tune. Or we have a bridge to high, so we need a lot of force to play the notes risking to sound fuzzy sometimes for the beginner. Or not having the right bow, is hard to play properly when the bow is not the right weight. A right setup can help us improve right away. Among those lines, what weight do you recommend when playing with no shoulder rest? I've noticed that with no shoulder rest we tend to play the violin almost horizontally, so do we need a lighter bow? or do we need a heavier one?

@MurphyMusicAcademy

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah, these are all true, but I wanted to make the video on somethings the student could directly control. Making a video on this subject is a great idea, though. I’d want to do it with a luthier, so I’ll have to wait till I get an actual camera and not a webcam. As for bows, I prefer lighter bows, but I don’t thing it matters whether or not you use a shoulder rest. It’s all about personal preference and playing style. For instance, Zukerman (who is vocally ANTI-shoulder rest, unlike me, who just nicely suggests it to people, haha) likes super heavy bows.

Bro , this is for advance players, and you are doing so quick 😅

Smell fear 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

What is the best violin under 1000 dollars

I’m having trouble with my fingers....it always lift is there any exercises to improve?

@MurphyMusicAcademy

4 жыл бұрын

Well, the video suggestion I put in at the end of this video should help. however, I'd actually have to see your hand and check your technique to know for sure what exercises to give you. As far as fingers lifting too high off the strings, I'd generally say this is a mind-muscle connection that you have to spend a lot of time building up. The fact that you are already aware of it is a good start. As much as you can, just try to constantly have the fingers hovering over the strings, and try to put them onto the strings in such a way as doesn't lift the others up. It will take some time before this happens naturally for you, but if you pay careful attention you can fix it. Also, make sure your wrist is straight and your thumb is in a good position on the neck where it can help leverage the fingers.

@catalinaburgos6649

4 жыл бұрын

Maybe practice some scharadiek exercises or play on one string without lifting the fingers. For example, on the A string play A, B, C#, D and E without lifting the last fingers. If you play C#, keep the first finger down and position the other fingers to be ready to play (place them a little bit above the string). I hope I explained it just fine! Good luck!

@MurphyMusicAcademy

4 жыл бұрын

Catalina Burgos Schradieck is good. I’m partial to Sevcik myself

@jezreelranan965

4 жыл бұрын

Murphy Music Academy thank you so much 😊 from now on I will pay attetion so that i can fix it... continue to do a video about violin, it really helps me a lot and all of the beginners

You are too quick… 😂 are you high 😅😂))) in the good way 😊❤

Hi Conrad, the android sent by CyberLife.

So strange to me how the violin can read through your body language whether you believe you can play what you're about to attempt or not. How did they do that 500 years ago?

Enough about your childhood lol thanks for the tips!!!

@MurphyMusicAcademy

3 жыл бұрын

My childhood was actually pretty great, but my teacher in high school was really tough, haha. Best teacher I ever had, honestly.

@nicholashill9302

3 жыл бұрын

@@MurphyMusicAcademy these tips are great it's about me trying to be economical with my movements I spent many years trying to get the notes who knew the bow was so important. Thanks a million.

14:17

I think I have a ear infection, cause I sound like a muffled fingernail on chalkboard. And feel like

Sorry the annoying background music was a show stopper. Bailed out.

@MurphyMusicAcademy

10 ай бұрын

Aaaaaannnddd that’s why I don’t use it anymore

The background music is a pointless distraction. Please get rid of it.

You consume mega quantities of caffeine, don't you? ; )

y'all are way tooooo .. what is this he'a thing called a v i o lin .. I got me a fiddle

Too talky

More you talk less you show the rechnique

Murphy! Made me furious. In a kind way. Typically I click away, and the last thing I do to make bad comments, but in this case I make an exception, and make a constructive criticism. Again, the teaching and the content was excellent, that’s why I stick around. But, you caused me an ample amount of nystagmus, and by the end of the lesson I came away with a tension headache. Teacher induced. So. Stop. Stop right there. Slow down the speech, and stop the jumping around. Calm down. It would’ve been more enjoyable. Correction. As I watched it again. the instruction and the speed of talking is actually not that bothersome, the quick cuts, and the jumping around gave me the headache. I know exactly you want the style to be not boring, engaging, rapid, so we don’t lose interest, it’s okay, just stop the rapid fire jumping from left to right and vice versa. In my opinion.

@MurphyMusicAcademy

4 жыл бұрын

I don't know what to tell you, man. I talk and do jump cuts as fast as I do for a couple of reasons. Firstly, you are absolutely right that I want it to be engaging and exciting as possible. The other reason, and this is almost the main reason, is that I'm afraid if I talk any slower or make the cuts any less tight then these videos will get unbearably long. I keep trying to get them down to 10 min or less but they still end up longer. Maybe I can compromise with you and still talk fast and do quick cuts, but stand a little more still. :)

@csmihaly

4 жыл бұрын

Well, maybe so, (unbearably long), but it’s a matter of opinion. I would argue it, though, because if the content is not engaging, no matter how short the clip is or fast the presenter speaks, - or jumping around in your case - not engaged audience will click away. HOWEVER, if the content is excellent, nobody cares if it’s a little long, actually, it takes as much as needed. For example, in your case, the content was super, I learnt a lot, actually changed my non-existent style, but not even, the psychological part and mind control part was very interesting, other teachers not getting there, maybe Ray Chen touched upon it superficially. Somebody (you?) should write a book “ Zen Violin” or something like that to explore the psychological aspect; like don’t strain that much, let it go, happens what happens, allow subconscious and muscle memory take over, ... I won’t repeat, you explained it well. Long story short, congrats. I definitely subbed. I don’t even play the violin. (Joking) of course I do. Or so I think. The cat likes it, anyway. Ok. Happy July the 4th. I don’t even speak English. I wrote this with a voice translator software, Hope no many mistakes. Arrivederci.

@pluutoop

2 жыл бұрын

I love Tobiah's videos. And the way he talks and the way he explains everything to the point without beating around the bush is exactly what I need. I have very short focus and finding his videos I have improved on my violin playing so much. I'm deeply grateful for him being himself and getting straight to the point. 🙏

Bla Bla Bla Bla Bla Et en 15 minutes tu vas apprendre aux gens à jouer du violon, arrête donc de parler, tu soûles