Blog - Mark Pedus' Violin and Viola practice manual

Tatsu

So, after days figuring things out and working on improving layout, I finally found the solutions. I managed to embed my videos, managed the layout nicely. Then I pressed save and publish.

And guess what….

Nothing looks the way Tatsu promised. My previews worked, I was quite proud. Now I have pages that are 80% open spaces and I can’t find back anything even tho I know where to look.

If anyone with a more intelligent and wordpress oriented mind than I could help me out, It would be very much appreciated. I find myself worrying more about the site layout than about the actual education I am trying to offer. Please get in touch…

Too much time on my hands…

Realisation

I have no idea where this site will go. It isn’t really a blog I guess. Still, it allows me a voice to put my videos into context.

I realised earlier this week that, yes I enjoy teaching and Im pretty good at it, but that I am building a collection of essential truths about violin practice and playing I wish I had never forgotten.

As a kid learning the violin, even though I had commited parents and a tape recorder present at my lessons, I focused on the cool stuff. The pieces that would ‘Wow’ my family and audience. Of course I hardly paid attention to the boring exercises I was given. And my teachers, as I remember, allowed it more often than not.

Decades later I, and many professional musicians I know, look back and realise how our lack of discipline lost us years in the long run. Without a solid foundation, bad habits made relative simple things seem so complicated. But worse, the unlearning of those habits often wasted even more time.

I think these lessons I am posting here are the important basic techniques I wish I had paid more attention to. I wish I had better understood the practical benefits of patience and scales and the odd boring drill. How those little details often make the difference between growth and stagnation.

I just hope I can help you avoid some, in hindsight obvious pitfalls and help you grow more continously, so you waste less time on rectifying bad habits or overcoming injuries during your awesome journey as a musician!

Perfectionism

Or just a word to hide behind as an excuse to postpone the launch of my first videos.

The original idea was to finish editing the recordings I made this summer, then build on that so I can get where I want to get. A project that can help anyone to learn to play the violin and/or the viola.

So now I am re-recording everything. Was it bad? Not really and I am not sure what I recorded last week is much better. It is tiring to make ‘open string’ recordings – in slow motion! And video and sound editing eats my days away before my eyes!

Anyway, this week, come what may, I will link in my first lessons for both instruments. Ready or not (that is referring to me, not to you) here I come…

One challenge a day

Today I was going to finish editing and upload my first recorded exercise. Past perfect because that isn’t going to happen!

I’m a novice with webdesign, and even though I’m quite proud of what I achieved over the last few months with the website of my shop, this is a whole new challenge. I assumed with what I learned, this would be manageable. It couldn’t be as complicated as a full on e-commerce shop, right?! Probably it isn’t, at least not in the same way.

There accuracy was paramount, here style/layout; and just a basic understanding of the possible consequences of a simple click are still sorely lacking. But every day I’m a fraction closer to where I want to get. Another day, another challenge, but I wont give up.

I will get there, one failure at a time…

Blogging, the big unknown

For years I have been building towards 2 goals. Make my shop a success and use whatever funds I can to build an online school for violin and viola.

School is not exactly the right word as no videos can replace a halfway competent teacher, but my aim was to explain anyone interested in how to practice. How to avoid wasting time while you practice so you grow faster, have less bad habits that will hold you back in the long run and over all make it more fun when you get to play pieces because you are simply better.

This week I am finally starting on this project that has taken years to prepare. I saved up bit by bit until I finally had all the necessary gear to build a recording studio in my basement. Then I had to go through the headache of trying to figure out some basic sound and video editing skills, which gave me another level of admiration for anyone in that industry!

I worked my way through dozens of different violin methods until I finally found 2 I fell in love with. Charles de Beriot which is deservedly world famous and the almost unknown Nicolas Laoureux, two methods very contrasting teaching styles. De Beriot is as expected ambitious beyond belief and would work well I guess if you can afford an hours lesson a day or so. Laoureux on the other hand is slow and methodical and maybe a bit too careful. But mixed together I really enjoy using both.

The best part about them is the duets, dozens of duets for teacher and student, each with a clear goal for the student. C. D Beriot even managed to compose an accompaniment to scales to make them more entertaining!

This blog will be mainly a video blog, guiding the student and their parents step by step through each exercise, explaining what to achieve and how to achieve it. I’ll also incorporate repertoire from ABRSM, Trinity and Suzuki method.

You can work your way through the entire method or pick and choose whatever videos you find interesting.

I look forward to this project and hope to help and inspire anyone that is interested, and look forward to any suggestions or constructive criticism you feel like sharing. I can’t wait to hear from you all!

Mark