The number one misconception about how to play the violin loudly.

There is a pretty common hypothesis among both violinists and non-violinists that in order to get a big sound out of a violin, one must muscle it out of the instrument by putting more weight on the string with a heavy right hand and/or strong arm and that rosin will help put the rubber-to-the-road, so to speak.

This is completely wrong.

Your instinct might be, “The harder I hit something, the louder it sounds,” but on the violin, pressure has the exact opposite effect. If you physically press down with the violin bow onto the violin string, you very quickly get to the point where all you get is a horrid and ratcheting croaking sound. Rosin only exacerbates this atrocious noise.

So what’s the key to creating a big, powerful sound?

Bow speed. And lots of it. Bow speed is the acoustic violinist’s secret weapon in the war against slouched-over fiddlers and technique-deficient electric violinists hiding behind a wall of goofy sound effects.

If bow speed is the gas pedal, the entire powertrain consists of a light-handed but controlled bow hold, consistent bow direction, instinctive bow tilt and accurate sounding points on each string, deliberate left-hand technique, a soloist’s posture, and about five other ideas that are TLDR to translate into words. And there’s more…

All of the above technical points must be executed simultaneously.

If this sounds like it’s hard to do, you’re right! This can of worms typically takes thousands of hours of practice to master.

Ripping it up with Blues Traveler in Vegas!

Having met the inimitable John Popper almost 20 years ago in a club as an underage kid with a fiddle and a dream, I admired what John had already accomplished as an instrumental phenom, a compelling songwriter, and a virtuosic singer with a commanding stage presence. Coincidence led to our subsequent meeting in 2009 on the stage trading violin and harmonica solos at Antone's in Austin, Texas, and a 3rd reunion in 2017 in Washington DC as John was invited by a good friend to perform with me and my Unrivaled Players at The Hamilton Live. Prior to this show, John had asked me what 2 or 3 songs of his I wanted to prep and I chose "The Mountains Win Again", "Carolina Blues" and "But Anyway". That mini set of Blues Traveler songs was a hoot with open jam sections, and John came back out to join us on an instrumental rendition of The Band's "Ophelia".

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of joining Blues Traveler on stage in their "Unhooked" unplugged acoustic show at Caesars Palace Las Vegas (pic below). John, Brendan, Chan, Tad and Ben were amazing to listen to and jam with - I loved playing "Regarding Steven", "Dropping Some NYC" and the "No Woman, No Cry" encore with them - so much fun!

Coolest thing? We get to do it again tomorrow night, and again the next night...

Thanks, mom, for forcing me to practice all of those years, and being cool with me listening to rock radio my entire childhood.