Taught by renowned violinist
Daniel Kurganov
For tonebase’s own Daniel Kurganov, inspiration and experimentation have been essential to his improvement. As musicians, we have constant opportunities to learn from the players around us and the recordings we have access to. By translating that energy into concrete technical and musical ideas in the practice room, we can better diagnose and solve lingering problems and discover new possibilities from our musical expression. These 18 experiments are starting points – make experimentation a lifelong habit!
Introduction
Kurganov started the violin at the relatively late age of 16, and had to rely on his creativity to solve technical issues. To his colleagues and students who continue to have ceilings in their practice, Kurganov believes a culture of experimentation is crucial.
Right-Hand Thumb
Many violinists touch the frog with their thumb while playing, which is suboptimal and potentially harmful to the sound. Kurganov shows a more natural way to hold the bow in this lesson.
Sensations of Balance in the Bow
For this lesson, Kurganov demonstrates six sensations designed to prime your body for feeling that the bow is an extension of your arm.
Piano
Piano does not always mean soft and gentle! With an example from Heifetz, Kurganov explores how we can maintain intensity while playing softly.
Extending Your Rich and Lush Sound
There's something about Henryk Szeryng's sound that's magical – Kurganov shows us how we can manipulate time, momentum, vibrato, and articulation to approach this.
Left-Hand Thumb Positions
It's a myth that violinists with small fingers are doomed to suffer. Kurganov compares two performances with different thumb positions, and analyzes where each is most useful.
Flexibility of the Right Hand and Fingers
Deeply feeling the friction of the bow is crucial to maintain looseness in the fingers. Kurganov looks at how the right hand can caress the instrument like a paintbrush, or change directions smoothly without anything fancy – both can be beautiful!
Right Elbow Height
A high elbow isn't necessarily a bad thing – some players, like Christian Ferras, use it to intensify their stroke. Kurganov examines both positions and their ramifications.
Hair Angle
Some players, like Joseph Silverstein, advocated for never using flat hair. However, flat hair can also give us a big sound with minimal effort. Kurganov urges you to explore both extremes!
Supination vs Pronation
Kurganov demonstrates Karen Tuttle's concept of "re-pulling" the hand in the middle of the stroke to increase power as we approach the tip of the bow.
More vs Less Bow
Via a personal anecdote, Kurganov provides a prime example of how inspiration and experimentation can drive your improvement. He provides an exercise for detaché, and explains the pros and cons of broad vs. intimate strokes.
Free Bow Changes
Despite what your professor may have told you, changing the composer's bowings is not sacrilegious. While a good composer usually had a purpose for what they wrote, we have an opportunity to improve our interpretation or physical comfortability by writing our own bowings and evaluating their usefulness.
How Do You Play Dots?
How many ways can you play dots in Mozart? In this lesson, Kurganov takes that simple question through its paces.
Speaking vs Singing
Just as in spoken language, our playing can either speak or sing. Kurganov uses the potent example of Dylan Thomas's poetry reading to illustrate how adding decay to the ends of notes changes our sound drastically.
Higher Positions vs Lower Positions
All great moments of expression are risks. Kurganov shows us how the fingerings we choose can create problems as well as new opportunities for emotional communication.
Click below to access hundreds of exclusive violin courses, available only on tonebase.
Unlock Course →'Ingratiatingly idiomatic violinistic personality'', Daniel Kurganov is known for building a pedagogy around artistic freedom and technical understanding. His passion for teaching stems from his own beginnings, having started the violin at the age of 16.
read full bio →Preview our curated selection of courses below. With lessons covering fundamentals, technical training, style and interpretation, you won't find a more thorough and enriching learning experience anywhere else.
Our members rate us at 4.8/5 stars. Here’s how a few of them transformed their flute skills since joining tonebase.
“Instead of scouring the internet for hours for performance tips and tricks, I now have access to a wealth of high-quality content from renowned artists at my fingertips!“
“Sincerely speaking, a few months with tonebase help me solve many issues I have had with my fingers for years if not decades.“
