​5 Violin Teaching Tips, Tricks, and Resources I’m Loving This Week July 28, 2016

This post was originally published on the Plucky Violin Teacher blog on July 29, 2016 so links and resources may not be current.

This week’s round-up of violin teaching tips, tricks, and resources features five helpful youtube videos about vibrato.

1. Vengerov: Bach (Sonata No.1) — How To Achieve A Good Vibrato
This video is a gem, here is Maxim Vengerov explaining how to coordinate vibrato with the bow.  Besides he’s a delight, you gotta love Vengerov.

2. Vibrato: Beginning Exercise 1 Sassmannshaus ViolinMasterclass.com
This video is the first in a series of vibrato exercise videos from Kurt Sassmannshaus of ViolinMasterclass.com and University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

3. Itzhak Perlman on Vibrato
Mr. Perlman’s thoughts about the different types of vibrato.

4. Violin Lesson on Vibrato from Nathan ColeNathan Cole is the First Associate Concertmaster, LA Philharmonic and he teaches online violin lessons at ArtistWorks.com.  I’ve been a member of ArtistWorks for almost a year and I have been very impressed.  It really helps me to stay motivated to practice and keep learning.  I highly recommend it.  Here’s one of Nathan’s videos about vibrato.
Classical Violin Lessons with Nathan Cole at ArtistWorks.com!


5. Violin Class 22: Vibrato by Doree Huneven
This is one of my very favorite videos about vibrato.  I think she has some wonderful exercises for vibrato, and explains things very well.  I am using a lot of these exercises with my students now.

More Violin Vibrato Tips, Tricks, and Resources…If you are looking for more resources and videos about vibrato, I recommend checking out Mimi Zweig’s site StringPedagogy.com.  Membership is free, and there’s a bunch of information about teaching vibrato there.

You can also sign up for Coursera’s free course “Teaching the Violin and Viola: Creating a Healthy Foundation,” there is an excellent unit about vibrato.

There’s also some helpful information in Michael Hopkin’s String Pedagogy Notebook, he includes information about teaching cello and bass as well.

I also really love Viva Vibrato, it has tons of fun exercises and illustrations for kids learning vibrato.  I think we talked about it in one of my pedagogy courses in my Master’s Degree.  I’ve enjoyed using it with my students.

​What are your best vibrato tips or resources?  Please share in the comments!