Blue Sky Teaching: Using creative approaches to refine students’ technique

This article appeared in The Strad June 2019 issue

Read more premium content for subscribers here

Donald Weilerstein – violin

Reading sections of lesson transcripts, you might think it’s a yoga or ballet class – or maybe a voice lesson:

‘Before you start, feel the spine move.’

‘And the eyes.’

‘Feel the lift in the spine.’

‘The whole thing up, to the top of the head.’

‘You want ecstatic energy from your spine through your body.’

‘Feel the sacrum, the whole pelvis vibrating.’

‘The sitting bones should feel alive down to the floor.’

‘Sing through your body.’

‘Sing like you’re the music.’

‘In the rest, do you feel large and lifted?’

Violinist Donald Weilerstein’s teaching is based on awareness of how energy flows through the body. His approach to technique is less about how to execute an action than about where to direct thoughts in order to release tension, thereby making a passage easier. These are not things you hear every day from a violin teacher.