Sunday, May 17, 2020

Practice tip no. 3:

Always warm up with long bows in front of a mirror watching to see if you are pulling the bow at a 90 degree angle from frog to tip and back tip to frog. There are three sound points to consider:
1) pulling on the slight from middle between bridge and fingerboard towards the fingerboard on the lowest two strings, and slightly from middle towards the bridge on the upper two strings.
2) pulling literally on the bridge sul-ponticello on all four strings. You will get a fuzzy sound but a great boundary to use being next to the actual wood of the bridge.
3) pulling the bow near the fingerboard on all four strings using the visual of the fingerboard as a boundary. This is sul-tasto.

It is important here to have good mechanics with the wrist, elbow, and back muscles. Always use a mirror and not to rely visually just looking down on the bow on the string from where our head is on top of the instrument. Good luck.

Thanks,
JMF

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Pedagogy "tidbits" for my studio and all string players will be posted regularly!

Dear Parents and Students:

I am going to post regular pedagogical helpful hints for string students of all ages and circumstances from foxteachingstudio .com.
I hope I am helpful to resolve issues in practicing and development of musical skills! We are all students of our instrument, as artists! Enjoy.

Number one: Practice slowly for intonation remembering that playing beautifully is artistic and expressive. Practice shifting and doublestops carefully.
Always test with open strings and when possible find a chord. Don't understand? Ask me!
Happy string playing!
JMFox

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

foxteachingstudio is now an Accredited member of the Better Business Bureau!

I am excited to have this new professional partnership placing customer needs first and moving forward towards high artistry within a context of fair and ethical business practice! We are emphasizing team work and persevering towards becoming great string players. My freelance work as a violinist is included with this vision.
Please also visit: foxteachingstudio.com