Welcome to the JamWithLauren Blog
Many of these articles are inspired by questions from our JWL students. If you can’t find a post that digs into the issues that are plaguing you, consider signing up for lessons with Lauren. When you sign up you will gain access to her amazing curriculum and she’ll be able to answer your questions during our bi-weekly LIVE Lessons. Who knows, maybe your question will inspire the next post!
How-To Prevent Music Related Injury: Small Muscle Athlete Edition
We rely on our body to respond with speed, precision, flexibility, and consistency. We train, practice, study, repeat - until we’ve perfected a technique to such a degree that we simply can’t get it wrong. We ask our bodies to execute any kind of acrobatic episode, from up-bow staccato, to triple-tonguing, to playing the upright bass (which is an athletic event all on its own).
But no one warns you about this side of musicianship - the physicality of musical instruments is rarely taken into account, let alone recognized by non-musician folk.
How to Hold Your Violin Bow
So, you’ve got yourself a fiddle. You’ve got the fancy case, you’ve got the rosin and shoulder rest, maybe you’ve even got a name for your instrument and by now you’re a pro at holding the instrument - which, I’ll have you know, is no small feat.
How To Practice Your Fiddle Efficiently and Effectively
What should you practice?
It’s kind of a silly question, but it’s the most important. I mean, there are SO. MANY. THINGS. You could practice; new material, old material, technical facility, foundational building blocks like scales and arpeggios, improvising, composing, arranging, the list is endless.