Something I've been working on with my students of late is "using the legs to create tone." No, this doesn't mean holding the bow with the legs! It's more along the lines of lifting a heavy object. While it's easy to focus on just the arms, lifting something heavy is a full-body activity. The same goes for an instrument. It's easy to think of music as "just" an intellectual past time. But that's the trap! So if we approach the instrument with the same mentality as we would approach any other physical activity then focusing on the legs makes perfect sense. Using the legs and core muscles promote good posture and breathing. Good posture and breathing allows all muscles to function more efficiently and fatigue at a slower rate. This increased efficiency allows us to create a more relaxed, powerful sound on our instrument. Almost all of the weird sounds that happen on a string instrument (and, I'm sure, any instrument) are the ...
Thoughts and experiences while exploring the Suzuki Method of teaching.