Counting down to the 6 month anniversary of the podcast: Laurel's first "Strings" magazine article is published!! Also learn about a free online music theory resource, possibilities for lessons with Laurel, and an offer to podcast listeners :-) For more about Laurel check out www.laurelthomsen.com

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice! Tips and ideas to help you start a daily violin or viola practice routine or strengthen the one you have. Today I provide ideas for finding and setting up a practice space. Are you a "Communal Space Practicer" or a "Private Space Practicer"? Why might this matter? Troubleshoot practice area issues, get your supplies in order, and most importantly, get practicing! For more about Laurel check out www.laurelthomsen.com

Whether you're new to the violin or viola or you've just taken off the tapes you've used up until now to find your finger placements, today we practice training your ear for in tune 2nd finger placements. We'll cover all the high and low 2nd finger placements on all the strings for both violin and viola and we'll combine these pitches with our open strings to form the intervals of the major and minor 3rds and also arpeggios. For more about Laurel check out www.laurelthomsen.com

We all experience negative thoughts about ourselves from time to time. When it's frequent and leads to hopelessness and frustration it can be debilitating to our progress as a musician and have a negative impact on our self esteem. Laurel Thomsen shows us how we can transform our negative self-talk into a vehical to aid us in getting back to and meeting our true needs and desires. If you want to find joy in playing and see consistent progress, come listen. For more about Laurel check out www.laurelthomsen.com

Chromatic tuners, like the ones we can clip to our instrument's scroll, can be great tools to help us develop good intonation skills. However, they can also delay that process if we don't use them to learn why and how we need to make corrections. Get tips on how to use them effectively.

I have just completed some supplemental worksheets to go along with the Intermediate Intonation Workout Series. Print out the PDF's at http://www.laurelthomsen.com/Podcast_downloads.html

Also, learn about a new upcoming episode series and other news about my work and the podcast.

Train your ears for excellent intonation on your violin or viola. Laurel Thomsen helps you tune 9 basic finger patterns on the "E" string in first position. Whew! After this you'll be ready for any strange scales and keys that might come your way. For more about Laurel check out www.laurelthomsen.com

Train your ears for excellent intonation on your violin or viola. Laurel Thomsen helps you tune 9 basic finger patterns on the "C" string in first position. Whew! After this you'll be ready for any strange scales and keys that might come your way. For more about Laurel check out www.laurelthomsen.com

Learn to tune your "E" string by ear from a given "E" in this "violin only" episode. For more about Laurel check out www.laurelthomsen.com

Learn to tune the "C" string by ear from a given "C" in this "viola only" episode. For more about Laurel check out www.laurelthomsen.com