1. My practice sessions usually entail me trying out new musical ideas in front of people. I'm constantly trying to put myself in the audience's shoes to create a similar atmosphere as a performance (only you get to try it again without consequences if things don't work out). A lot of people "practice for themselves" and are surprised that when they finally play in front of people they're either nervous as hell or that people don't feel engaged and tune out.
2. Don't you know I'm the captain of this ship?

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, when it comes to extrinsic-motivation, it really comes down to finding outside sources to inspire you. Practicing with others (just like studying together or going to the gym with others) really does help. I can't stress enough the importance and value of being in a community. This is the very reason why Tonic exists - a (free) way to practice with others in a supportive community. Give it a try today and let me know how it goes :)

Just finished a concert now so this is fresh on my mind. I recall at one point as a student, I went through a lengthy process where I examined as many human emotions I could think of (eg. delightful, exuberant, nonchalance, outside-sorrow, inner-sorrow, the list goes on forever) and tried to figure out what it would sound like coming from an instrument.

Having these different emotions are like colors on a palette. You can paint the most vivid and intense visuals through music that impact directly to the listener’s heart.

Took a wrong turn in the lanes and now I'm here.

Hehe no spoilers about S2, but it was incredible to work with the team. Christian Linke is honestly one of the most talented people I know and I'm so happy for him with the quality of talent he's been able to attract to his team.

One of the composers (Alex Temple) wrote some pretty gnarly stuff for the violin like this passage in the song "What Could Have Been" with Sting as well as the mind blowing cadenza where Jinx is just going batshit "She's here".I was so with how things worked out that I asked Alex to write our theme song for Tonic, which is in a completely different style but goes to show how versatile of an artist he is!

Viola jokes aside, many viola to violin (and vice versa) is a pretty easy switch. For eg. I did record the viola in the opening episode of Arcane. You can check it out here and rate how my viola skills are.

I'm going to give an answer that is probably going to give folks mixed feelings.

The choice to pursue music depends on what your goals are in life. If you want to become famous, or earn a lot of money, and pursuing music gives you feelings of uncertainty to achieve those things, I would say don't do it. Music can always be a part of your life if you allow it.

That being said, you could always pivot even after going to music school. I know a lot of people who went to Juilliard, Curtis, and other music schools who are now in completely non-music related industries; from real-estate to finance, crypto, medicine, consulting. What's cool is the discipline, responsibility, and social skills that are built from being a classically trained musician, translates well into other fields.

There are 2 methods for getting over performance anxiety. I've used both but recommend the second - I'll explain why:

1. "The bulletproof musician" is where you get to a place where you focus and shut off all external forces. The way to do this is practice the same passage over and over in the same style, same phrasing, etc. where you develop the "muscle memory" to be able to play the passage at any given point (even when emerging from sleep). This method was used a lot by the Soviet musicians back in the day. However, if your mental focus cracks and you become aware of the audience during your performance, it's game over.
2. The second method is constantly practicing in front of an audience to the point where your brain can't differentiate between practice & performance. This is harder to achieve (and a little more terrifying in the beginning) because there are suddenly people in your practice session, but this is probably the most valuable reason I use the Tonic app. The result is when I now walk on stage, I have the feeling like everyone's here to listen to me "try things", just like I do in the Studio.

That feeling you get when you wish you tried different things right after they happen? Yeah, it's possible now which is pretty cool.

Ah, if only blackpink had included the harmonics section in their track...

No, but your question is a good one. This is where having more opinions probably makes sense because everyone's hand is shaped differently, some people have more trouble with certain techniques than others. Would recommend you search for the "Advanced Violinists" group on Tonic - they could help you with fingerings and advice if you upload the part in the sheet music you're having trouble.

My personal take on harmonics and intonation would be to always check the "real notes" by checking to see if the 4ths are in tune and placed as intended.

Great question.

Just to give context to those wondering. These days, there are 4 main categories of musicians in the classical music world:

• Orchestral musician
• Pedagogue/Teacher
• Chamber musician
• Soloist

Many musicians do a combo of these. Mostly Orchestral + Teaching, Chamber + Teaching, or Solo + Chamber. The rarest mix is orchestral + soloist, where currently I've only seen members of the Berlin Phil able to pull this off. There are also many full time quartet players and full time teachers (like my teachers Prof Zhang and Robert Lipsett) who fully commit to their category.

This doesn't factor in social media/content creation which in today's digital age, has become an extremely valuable asset to have and created a new category in itself. You could be a teacher and market yourself online. You could be an orchestral musician and take on an additional social media role within the orchestra. A chamber musicians who offers online courses, or a soloist who records albums, creates content, or builds an app.

The possibilities are endless with many paved paths, but the best part is being able to create a world in which you are placed at the top and are happy with.

Thanks! When I was 8, I was playing 8 hours a day

Just kidding. I think I practiced around an hour to an hour and half on weekdays and 2 hours on weekends.

Interesting though that you mentioned you "need to keep him loving music". If love for music is the primary goal here, then he certainly doesn't have to play pieces 4 courses above his level. People (especially kids) need to feel accomplishment and there's no better way to do that, than for him to be the one to say "Yeah, I'm ready for more". There's a balance to strike here but the fact that you're already aware of the burnout tells me that things need to level out for a little while before going higher.

I do have perfect pitch, though when the note gets too low (think bottom 5 notes of the piano), it becomes difficult for me to differentiate.

That being said, I don't think it's too important to have perfect pitch from a musical standpoint, but it is important to have familiarity with your instrument eg. knowing what the note is when you put your 3rd finger down on a particular valve/string/etc.

I'd be curious to hear what musicians who don't have perfect pitch have struggled with (other than being made fun of). As a musician who does, I have struggled with transposing (eg. when I attempted Paganini's Violin Concerto alla Scordatura (with the tuning raised by a half note) but that may also be the intense familiarity I have with my instrument which was tripping me up.

I would want to be friends with it.

Being able to fully memorize the part can come in handy, but I would say it's down to the repertoire. Certain repertoire (like chamber music or sonatas) has an etiquette where unless all players have memorized it, you should also use music.

Also it depends on the instrument and how it affects the player. I think pianists don't get affected as much because they're more stationary, but when violinists or cellists have a music stand that's blocking them from the audience, their focus tends to go towards the music stand.

I would say it's like giving a speech. It doesn't have to be fully memorize but one should have enough of it memorized to be able to focus on the musicality and meaning behind the notes.

Thanks for the great question! If I were to be stuck playing the same 3 pieces for the rest of my life, they would be:

• Bach's Chaconne for Solo Violin. This one seems an obvious choice because the piece has an incredibly large vessel to fit vast amounts of rich expression and experience. Definitely top pick.
• Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. This one never gets old for me. It still has the same freshness as the day I met it when I was 9 years old :)
• Sibelius Violin Concerto. The 3rd one was hard to pick, but I ended up with the Sibelius because of the contrast it provides against the others in the type of expression, yet is still my style of piece (ice & fire).

A few favorite concert halls where the acoustic is amazing: Suntory Hall (Tokyo), Koerner Hall (Toronto), Weiwuying (Kaohsiung), Walt Disney (LA), Davies (SF), Elbphilharmonie (Hamburg), Musikverein (Vienna), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam),

When I'm performing, I usually think of characters/personas. Sometimes it can become a story but usually it's simply a conversation or scene that happens. For example, at the bridge passage of Mendelssohn's 3rd movement, I imagine a conversation between a young student and an old teacher. The young student keeps asking why while the old teacher just keeps shaking their head. Eventually the student becomes determined to make their own decisions and that's when the 3rd movement starts into this adventure with lots of valleys, mountains, and beautiful scenery just rushing past.

If your mind is blank (which it can very easily become when practicing by yourself), then what comes out will also be blank and robotic. This is why it's important to always have a focused and conscious state when you're practicing.

Although people say it's not good to dwell in the past, I like reflecting because I think it's the easiest way to determine personal growth. (ie. Situation in the past that happened, how would I deal with it now?)

Therefore I do have a few things I wish I knew that could have helped make life smoother:

• Don't make assumptions before you have all the details
• It's OK to be different because everyone is. Some are just hiding it better than others.
• Don't be afraid to ask people for help but don't let their help go to waste. Learn and adapt so you can be stronger and more useful.
• It's better to say "I don't know" than to make up something.
• Be aware of not only yourself and others around you, but also the impact you make to others through your actions.
• Goldfish only need to be fed once per day.
• Buffets are not the answer.
• Instead of being defensive, learn to throw yourself into the situation to fully understand everyone's perspective.

For the first 9 years of learning the violin, I didn't play any scales or etudes. None of my teachers at the time told me to - I think they probably thought I was doing just fine playing concertos like Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, and Bruch. However, it soon became apparent that I was hitting a plateau in my technique. My intonation was not consistent and not improving.

I decided to switch teachers and that's when I was told that in order to improve, I had to play only scales & etudes for 6 months without touching a single piece. Peter Zhang in Sydney was the guy who fixed my technique. Thanks Professor.

I haven't read any (and probably won't) but I think creativity should always be encouraged.

I did a little github pushing in the very beginning back when we were called Pocket Conservatory. Really simple stuff that made me respect my cofounder Rose, as well as the rest of our dev team for what they do.

Fiddle stuff: I played a few bluegrass pieces by Edgar Meyer (those violin + bass duos) and some basic hoe-downs. Also extreme respect for bluegrass fiddlers was developed in light of those experiences. One of my favorite fidllers is Jeremy Kittel, you should listen to his track "Chrysalis" - just divine!

Picking a piece that's slightly above your technical level can be very good for technical growth. If you decide to go with a piece that's multiple levels higher, then make sure you remind yourself that you're having fun (1-2 sessions is fine) and that you don't have any external pressure. Otherwise, chances are you might become frustrated which could affect your overall relationship to the piece (don't wanna ruin it for later) or even to your instrument.

Yeah riot, am I coming back for season 2?

It's ok, I struggle with that part too.

Oh yeah, all 3, all the time. I was pretty mad for a period of time (couldn't you tell from my content? jks) but yeah, it was sort this helpless feeling that actually made me feel like "Welp, I have nothing to lose, might as well focus on what I want, which is connecting with people and creating positive impact".

As advice for those who are dealing with this sort of thing, if it's outside of your control, try to change your environment. If it is something you can change (where you're not hurting others), then do it.

One of the best realizations that I made was when I finally decided I would stop living in the eyes of others. Best wishes and hope you're doing okay!

1. It used to bother me that I couldn't figure out where my "home" was - was it Brisbane? Or Taipei? Or Philadelphia? Nowadays, I've come to realize that there doesn't have to be this rule of "only one home". You don't have to be home-ogenous. Home is where you can relax, recharge, and hang out with some really close friends.
2. Demon Slayer, One Punch Man (get it together guys for season 3), Mob Psycho. I grew up with Naruto, DBZ (I'm so lost nowadays), and of course Pokemon (but only the original 152). Recently dived into Jojo's Bizarre Adventures which is so whacky but so awesome. Also the OST Golden Wind is my gym anthem.

If you join The Ray Fans group on Tonic, I usually post the time and location for secret meetups at concerts where there isn't an official signing happening (and these days due to covid, it's pretty rare).