How to Create Meaning in Every Piece

When I was a violin performance major at Indiana University, I studied with Tadeusz Wronski. In my lesson one day, I played the first movement of the Mozart G major Violin Concerto. When I finished, Mr. Wronski said, “Your Kreutzer etude is very good.”

I was dumbfounded. After a second, I commented, “But Mr. Wronski, that was Mozart…?”

He explained that it even though it was very clean and accurate, my concerto had sounded more like a Kreutzer etude. Mr. Wronski finished his comments with this advice: "don’t wait for your technique to be perfect to play musically."

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Every single day, in every single practice session, we need to remember to play with:

• Emotion

• Dynamics

• Color

• Phrasing and shape

• Thoughtful articulation

• Beautiful sound and vibrato

• Smooth string crossings and shifts

These details aren't afterthoughts. They aren't just icing on the cake. They are the means through which you communicate meaning. So it doesn't matter if you're playing Mozart, or Kreutzer, or a C major scale--take every opportunity to be musical and create meaning, even if the audience is just the fly on the wall.

Do you use these skills in every note you play? I'm curious--email me at mick@theviolapro.com and let me know!