I’ve had a Mozart monkey on my back for nearly 30 years now, so it feels good to throw it off. When I was 16, I finally (on my 3rd try) made the finals of the national American String Teachers Association competition. I was just about to take the stage, when suddenly the head of the jury appeared backstage with a question for me: “What cadenza are you playing for Mozart 4?” I stared at him blankly for what seemed like ten minutes before giving the only answer I could: “I don’t know.” “You don’t know what you’re going to play, or you don’t know who wrote it?” he asked with a sneer. I couldn’t b ..read more

I’m lucky to live in a house filled with world-class violin playing. And I’m not talking about my own playing! My wife, Akiko, classes things up for both of us with her powerful performance and meticulous preparation. So I was really happy that she finally gave in and helped me put together a guide to daily practice. So why isn’t her name at the top of this page too? That’s just the way she is; she’s fine to roam through the pages of our guide, but not to take center stage. I’ve gotten used to her modesty (but I still put her name on the cover)! But her thoughts on practicing, as well as mine ..read more

Back when making a video meant me sitting in front of my garage door with a violin in my hand (actually, that’s still how I make my videos… I just have backgrounds and lighting now!) I recorded a 10-minute monologue on our favorite orchestra audition excerpt for violin. And even though fingerings and bowings aren’t everything, they aren’t nothing either. If you’d like to have my marked part for the first page of Don Juan, just let me know where to send it: And now, that classic video: The post Don Juan appeared first on Nathan Cole, Violin ..read more

We violinists don’t have enough gear! Life’s other pursuits require tons of accessories, while we’re supposed to suffer with just a violin, bow, and rosin. Maybe a shoulder rest if we’re so inclined. And, of course, a case to hold it all. Today, however, I hope to add just one item to your violin case. It’s an accessory that fits anywhere and has become part of my daily warmup. And it will enhance your vibrato, which is the “fingerprint” of your sound. It’s the Gripmaster from Prohands, and if you click that link you’ll go straight to Amazon where you can purchase the same model I use every da ..read more

Let’s get one thing straight: when I’ve won an audition, the system worked and the best player prevailed! All the other times, something wacky went down. Joking aside, you win some and you lose some. But while there’s no surefire way to guarantee triumph, there are ways to plan on bombing. And I’m here to help you steer clear of them. Playing “in tune and in time”, while necessary, aren’t quite enough. Plus, how do you prepare so that you can cover those basics under pressure anyway? It all comes down to risk and reward. You have to know what risks are worth taking, as well as how risky every ..read more

Every so often someone shares one of those “weird tricks” with me that works right away. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to pass it on to you. In fact, it’s been so long since some wise soul shared it with me that I’ve forgotten who they were! If I remember, I’ll come back and give them credit. There are two main sources of tension in the left hand for violinists, and they’re closely related: Between thumb and 1st finger Between 1st and 2nd fingers If you’re squeezing in either of these places (or even worse, both) then you’re killing your left hand in terms of accuracy, even-ness ..read more

The other day, Akiko and I were rehearsing a string quartet with two LA Phil colleagues (one of those new-fangled pieces that requires a foot pedal to trigger sound files… but that’s a whole other story) when the topic of Artificial Intelligence came up. If you haven’t heard of ChatGPT or the other AI tools making the news these days, you will soon. In fact, how do you know it’s me writing these words right now? I promise, it’s me. Give me the Turing Test. Ask me about the first page of the Mendelssohn! In any case, the cellist in the group mentioned that just for fun, he had asked ChatGPT to ..read more

Years ago, I had the chance to perform the Beethoven concerto with orchestra for the first time. I also had the good fortune to play Nathan Milstein’s gorgeous Stradivarius, the 1716 “Maria Teresa” or “ex-Milstein”. So this month, when I was asked to play the Brahms concerto, I was once again able to play “the Milstein”, thanks to the generosity of its owner and caretaker. This wouldn’t be my first Brahms with orchestra, but I wanted to make it a “first” for the cadenza at least. Nathan Milstein wrote several versions of a Brahms concerto cadenza, and may very well have played a different one ..read more

I’ll admit it: I’ve been plucking since I was a little Suzuki kid. It drove my teachers crazy, it drove my parents crazy, and it still drives my stand partners crazy… crazy with jealousy, that is, at the hundreds of ways I’ve found to play pizzicato! OK, maybe they aren’t jealous of my harp-like wizardry. But playing in orchestras for the last twenty-plus years has forced me to develop quite a repertoire of techniques for plucked notes, from the bread-and-butter “pizz” to all sorts of special effects. And, in case you’ve forgotten, pizzicato comes up in the solo and chamber repertoire all the ..read more

Did you know that you already know everything you need to know about phrasing? That’s right: far from being a murky, elusive concept best left to singers and pianists, phrasing is something you already do quite naturally. Just not when you have a violin in your hand! At least, that’s how I feel much of the time… But then I go back to the spoken word, or to simple songs, and I remember how deeply ingrained the phrasing impulse is in all of us. To prove it, all you have to do is to sing “Happy Birthday” and you’ll see what I mean. In fact, I invite you to sing it with me! But we can do a lot mor ..read more