Big Announcement!

Dear friends and readers (future friends, perhaps?),

There is some big news here at Active Violinist. You may notice a new tab in the navigation menu. There is now a SHOP option, which includes 2, yes TWO options to peruse.

Yes, that is correct.

I have a store now and I am so excited about it! You can now buy really cool things on my website. Yay!

Adding a shop to my website has been a secret goal of mine for quite some time and I have schemed (and am still scheming) for probably close to a year about products to create and release to the public and those outside of my private studio.

My very first SHOP item, designed specifically for Active Violinist by the supremely talented artist Meghan Irwin, is a "100 Days of Practice" chart. I worked closely with Meghan to create something beautiful that inspires, motivates, and encourages everyone and anyone. This chart makes progress and success both visual and tangible and includes 105 stickers designed specifically for this challenge. 

Freaking Beautiful, right? Meghan is incredible!

I am using this challenge as a way to nurture community in my private studio. I hope other teachers will consider this as well. The Active Violinist studio practice challenge begins February 1st, 2018 and I hope you will consider joining my students and me on this adventure. Check the blog for regular updates on our progress. If this sounds fun, thrilling, (or even terrifying) there is still time to order your chart and do the challenge alongside us - we can build a beautiful, supportive community this way!

...and for all of you non-musicians out there, the "100 Days of Practice" is not limited to playing your instrument every day. It is such a great way to commit to something you've always wanted to do more regularly, or a goal you want to complete. In fact, I would LOVE to know what you commit to for 100 days. The options are endless.I have so many thoughts and ideas about this that I have a completely separate blog post in the works.

Coming soon! Three beautiful certificates to acknowledge the diligence, perseverance, and hard work that practicing every single day requires. The certificates reward 30+, 60+, and 100 days of practice and will be available individually, and as a set (in case you want to reward those milestones along the way). Stay tuned for those. They will hit the SHOP this week.

Finally, you can now buy all of your sheet music directly from my website. There are direct links to some of my favorite skill building repertoire and technique books (especially for younger violinists), and you can also search the entire Sheet Music Plus inventory directly from my website! How cool is that!?  Now there is no excuse to not have your music in time for your lesson (insert evil teacher laugh).

Subscribe to the blog to stay up to date on our progress and get the latest news and updates about new inventory in the SHOP.

Lastly, for more information about Meghan, and to view more of her work - trust me, you want...no you NEED to do this - check out www.meghanirwin.com and support talented artists!

Happy Practicing!

Simple Holiday Survival Moves for (upper) String Players

I know, I know, my last post was all about how I LOVE the Nutcracker. It is my favorite holiday tradition etc. etc. etc. and IT IS don't get me wrong! I was not lying! I love the music, choreography, costumes, and story. For many young years of my life, I attended the Nutcracker every December.

I just forgot about a few little things in that post that make it difficult to love when you are performing this ballet several times per weekend, often multiple times in a day. Add to that all of the hopping around town, playing in multiple Christmas performances and productions, and preparing students for recitals and auditions. Sometimes just keeping my schedule straight feels like mental gymnastics and running from rehearsals to performances feels more like a workout than a commute!

Many of us do the happy Nutcracker dance and spend many hours playing Tchaikovsky’s most beloved ballet, collecting paychecks earned from hours spent in the dark, cramped pit, crouched over our music stands and trying not to poke other musicians in the face with our bows. I can only speak as an upper string player, but my goodness this environment really bring out the aches and pains!

The pit presents a multitude of difficulties that are often swept under the stage. My colleagues and I often hobble out into the hallway during intermission rife with pain and discomfort from maintaining unhealthy or unnatural body positions in the orchestra pit. I would argue that there are certain restrictions in the pit that amplify or expedite any discomfort one may feel when performing ON the stage rather than below it.

Here are some of the issues working against us:

Reduced space - sometimes if I get a little too excited in a musical figure I literally knock into my stand partner or a violist! My chair is definitely not where I would prefer it, but I can guarantee that I am not the only one who feels this way. The first violins are tucked up against a wall that has a drop off by their feet!

Awkward Sightlines - the conductor is much higher in regards to the orchestra for obvious reasons: he has to see what is happening on the stage. The neck angle required to see him is significant for us and I have yet to find a way to position my music stand to see the notes and the maestro at the same time. 

Darkness/lighting - I am getting old. The pit really highlights this. If you're a musician who has ever played the Nutcracker you know that 85% of the parts consist of terribly printed music in that very handwritten style that is super difficult to read if you add ledger lines, accidentals, dynamics, articulations, pretty much anything. I find myself sometimes squinting and leaning forward to actually see some of the notation and make sure my eyes aren't playing tricks on me.

Busy schedules - Yes, sometimes we do more than one Nutcracker in a day but if you add to that the other rehearsals and performances, you better believe that we barely have time to gulp down a meal in between services.

Stress - When I'm stressed my shoulders and neck get even tighter. I don't know a single person, let alone violinist (or violist) who benefits from super tight shoulders. Our jobs already add quite a bit of neck and shoulder discomfort at the best of times. The holidays are stressful for everyone but the added tension certainly does not help us do our job.

Repetition
 - Yes, multiple performances. Multiple shows. Multiple deja vu moments as we take our seats and feel the aches in the exact same places (can you say Apotheosis of this freaking piece with the seemingly endless tremolo - what a killer).

The list goes on.... 

Standing in the hallway during intermission griping about discomfort with my colleagues, I decided to teach them a few of the moves I use to relieve some of the tension. The feedback was enthusiastic. I mean, I should have known it would be but I was not prepared for the reports of immediate physical relief, enhanced concentration, and reduced feelings of stress. I should have been! I wrote about the subject because I 100% believe in these positive outcomes. 

For those of you who are unaware, I just completed my dissertation titled “Using Iyengar Yoga to Enhance Violin Playing”  (you can read it here) and spent months researching and practicing yoga and applying it directly to violin playing in a variety of settings. Although I technically did not address the pit environment there are several asanas that are directly applicable and appropriate for the types of discomfort experienced in this environment.

These are very simple moves focused on the upper body, arms, shoulders, and back. They can be done in concert clothes, and do not require much space (we did these in the hallway backstage), or many props, make minimal contact the questionable floor (who wants to be rolling around on the floor in their performance attire?), and are accessible to most.

A few of my comrades graciously agreed to model different versions of each pose for this post and I can't thank them enough for their help.

Tadasana Paschima Namaskarasana - Mountain Pose with Reverse Prayer Hands

(for those unfamiliar with Sanskrit, Tadasana, or Mountain Pose is simply standing with weight distributed evenly across both feet. For this post, it simply means we are not doing any fancy leg variations).

This pose stretches the Teres Major, Subscapularis, Rhomboids, Trapezius, Teres Minor, Infraspinatus, and Deltoids.

Iyengar says this pose reduces depression, increases the flexibility of the upped body, arms, elbows, and wrists.

Here we have 3 hand placements depending on flexibility: Ronna shows the full hand placement with palms of the hands touching (upper right), I show very little wrist flexibility but still the shoulder rotation (bottom), Phil touches just his fingertips together while still trying to pull his shoulders back. Wherever your body is, the shoulders are KEY. Work to pull them back, do not let them slump forward!

Tadasana Gomukhasana - Cow Face Arms.

This pose stretches the Teres Minor, Rhomboids, Latissimus Dorsi, Subscapularis, and Triceps.

Iyengar says this pose boosts confidence, improves breathing by opening the chest, activates the muscles of the shoulders and back, and helps relieves arthritis in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and fingers by stretching the arms,

Here again, we see Ronna in the full expression (upper left), I use my rosin rag to get a better extension while still not being able to clasp my hands together, and Phil works on the rotation at the elbows and shoulder. This one is a killer for tight triceps and I really feel it when I'm performing all the time! In real life, I would have handed Phil a strap. He is working to push his left elbow up towards the ceiling here while keeping his chest open. 

Tadasana Garudhasana - Eagle Arms

This pose stretches the Trapezius, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor, Teres Major, Latissimus Dorsi, and Serratus Anterior

Iyengar says this pose removes stiffness in the shoulders.

Ronna again shows the final arm position in this one (top right) with a side view and frontal view (with a smile). Phil is working towards the hand clasp but can feel the stretch in his back around his shoulder blades. I am showing the back engagement without the hand clasp for anyone working towards that initial expression of the pose. My elbows are raised, which stretches my mid back between the shoulder blades and feels so so SO good!

To shine a little light on all those fancy muscles listed above please see the diagram below (a big THANK YOU to Jeff Montague for helping me create this).

Missing from this diagram are:

Deltoid - Do you see the shoulder muscle between where the Upper Trapezius and Teres Major are labeled in the diagram above? Where your arm would extend out to the side if the entire upper body was included here. Behold! The Deltoid!

Latissimus Dorsi - See that big swoopy muscle underneath the Infraspinatus in the above diagram (left side again)? That is the Latissimus Dorsi. 

Triceps - Situated on the back of the arm. They work in opposition to the bicep. They are not pictured here, but you know where your arms, right?

Subscapularis - This one is tricky because it sits UNDERNEATH the shoulder blades and you can't actually see it unless you were a skeleton with an invisible ribcage. It is very important for shoulder movement and tends to get caught up in all the string player discomfort.

When I hold yoga asanas, however simple they may seem, I don't count seconds I count deep inhales and exhales. If you do this, you will feel your body much more intimately and most likely hold these poses a little longer than 30 seconds or whatever. I tend to start with 6 inhalations and exhalations, and add more if I need to, want to, have the time, etc. You will also feel each pose intensify and followed by a magical release when you breathe into this tension. When you return to neutral you can almost feel the blood swoosh through your arms and back (swoosh is definitely a correct anatomical term) as increased blood flow returns to those areas.

The goal of this post is to help you find relief while at work. I am not trying to paint a bleak picture of our working environment at all! Some aches and pains are inevitable in this line of work and these poses offer a little release. The benefits of these poses are not limited to violinists and violists either. I bet if you spend time in the car, at a desk, texting, staring at your phone (I am guilty of all of these) then you will also find these simple moves therapeutic.  

*Disclaimer - It is best to seek help from someone with experience, a yoga teacher or physical therapist when first attempting these. They are intended to help NOT hurt. Please understand that each body is different and you should respect the limitations of your own body.

What do you to fight off the aches and pains in the pit? Are you looking for more suggestions? Leave a comment below. Believe me, I have way more where this came from!

Sources:

Gray, Henry, and H. V Carter. Gray’s Anatomy. New York, N.Y.; Lewes, 2013.

Iyengar, B.K.S., Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health. Revised edition. New York, N.Y.: DK, 2014.

Iyengar, B.K.S., Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika. Rev. ed. New York: Schocken Books, 1979.

Kaminoff, Leslie, and Amy Matthews. Yoga Anatomy. 2nd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2012.

Sally O'Reilly

Today is the birthday of my hero, mentor, and inspiration, Ms. O'Reilly. 

(she always says that's what her favorite students call her, and I would bet my bottom dollar that we all want to be in that exclusive group).

Everyone has that one teacher in life they revere more than anyone else, and for me, she is that person. She taught me so much, and not just about how to play the violin.

When practicing, faced with awkward professional situations, or working with my students I always think: "WWSD" as in, "What Would Sally Do?" 

I learned the benefits of combining hard work and humor and aspired (and still aspire) to be as equally well versed in art, history, literature, and politics as I am in music, just like Ms. O'Reilly.

When I veered off the beaten path of classical music and dipped a toe in playing with rock bands and touring all over Europe, she simply invited me over to her home to discuss places to go, things to do, and people to call. She publicly celebrated my success. I thought that playing in a band was like a dirty secret in a music school, but she told me that if nobody else was doing it, I should be proud of my success....but she still made me practice my scales and etudes even when galavanting around like a rock star. 

When things went south with a different violin teacher during my doctoral degree (that's a long story for a different time), she was the person I turned to for advice, and she was my wholehearted advocate. Having her support gave me the courage to make some difficult decisions because she made clear what was right, and what was not acceptable. I was so comforted by her absolute commitment to me and the success of her students. I knew I could depend on her support even after years of not seeing her, or having a lesson with her.

Being one of her students is like being in an elite club. It is an honor to be counted as one of her students. She has taught some of the fiercest most badass players and teachers in this country.

For years I worked hard to do precisely what she asked, and now, I work hard to emulate her teaching. I am still learning from her all these years later. Genius!

I count her as much as a friend as I do a teacher.

Happy Birthday Ms. O'Reilly! Thank you for everything.

(I cannot believe I have absolutely no pictures of us together. How embarrassing!)