The Violin Geek Podcast

In this episode of the Violin Geek Podcast we get a behind the scenes glimpse into the making of Laurel Thomsen's new single being released today, "Make Me Come Alive," in collaboration with her partner, Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Frechette. We learn about the song's origin, the duo's recording process, the making of the music video which is also being released today, as well as the harrowing story behind their new album, due for release on January 21, 2022. We listen to the song, as well as samples of rough tracks the duo made along the way. Enjoy!

Listen to and download "Make Me Come Alive" https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/danfrechetteandlaurelthomsen/make-me-come-alive

Watch the "Make Me Come Alive" music video https://youtu.be/jNue8FBwT3s

Order signed physical copies or exclusive downloads of the new album "After the Fire" https://www.danandlaurel.ca/Shop/

For more about Dan Frechette, including his 100+ albums of original songwriting, please visit https://www.danfrechette.com

Visit Laurel Thomsen's website, with info about her performances, recordings, and teaching can be found at https://www.laurelthomsen.com

Please send Laurel an email at [email protected] if you have a violin, viola, fiddle, music biz, or practice related  question you’d like answered in her Violin Geek blog or on a podcast,  have a topic you'd like her to cover or someone you'd like her to  interview, or have a story or insight to share. Also, get in touch if   you’d like to inquire about violin, viola, or fiddle coaching or  lessons with Laurel via Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom. You're also welcome to  post  your success story, comments, or suggestions to www.facebook.com/laurelthomsenmusic.

Happy Practicing!

In this episode we hear from Alexandr Kislitsyn, international violin soloist, chamber musician, educator, producer, and the newest member of the acclaimed Trio Casals. We learn about the trio's recent release, "A Grand Journey," featuring four debut works "inspired by traditional melodies and cultural flavors" for piano trio and solo piano, and enjoy a couple choice tracks from the album. We also discuss Alexandr's approach to practice, his attitude toward staying focused and inspired, and we learn about some of his upcoming projects and the way in which he's fusing his Classical background with modern sounds and interests. Enjoy!

Learn more about Alexandr https://www.alexandrkislitsyn.com/

Follow Alexandr on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/alexandr.kislitsyn

Buy or stream "A Grand Journey" from Trio Casals https://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv6367/

Learn more about Trio Casals https://www.parmarecordings.com/triocasals/

Stream Alexandr's most recent electronic music single "2Light9:" https://band.link/tn5SN

~

Learn more about and pre-order Laurel Thomsen's upcoming fifth duo album "After the Fire:" https://www.danandlaurel.ca

Visit Laurel Thomsen's website, with info about her performances, recordings, and teaching can be found at www.laurelthomsen.com

Please send Laurel an email at [email protected] if you have a violin, viola, fiddle, music biz, or practice related question you’d like answered in her Violin Geek blog or on a podcast, have a topic you'd like her to cover or someone you'd like her to interview, or have a story or insight to share. Also, get in touch if  you’d like to inquire about violin, viola, or fiddle coaching or lessons with Laurel via Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom. You're also welcome to post  your success story, comments, or suggestions to www.facebook.com/laurelthomsenmusic.

Happy Practicing!

Learn what it takes to create a compelling arrangement of a Pop, Rock, or Jazz tune and the factors that help determine whether a song is a good candidate for solo violin treatment or if it needs an ensemble or band to do it justice. If, like host Laurel Thomsen, your performance life has been requiring you to learn new songs in various non-Classical genres lately, or if you have a favorite song you hope to translate to your instrument, we discuss the tools within a violinist's and other bowed string player's technique that can help bring tunes originally written with vocals and lyrics to life in new ways. We also explore musical roles within an ensemble and discuss how different instrument choices can elevate an arrangement. Finally, we cover some tips on how to present performance and repertoire options to a client during the booking process to ensure that expectations are met and song requests are realized.

A word of thanks from Laurel: Many thanks to the clients who have booked me for their weddings and events over the years, and who help me stretch outside my comfort zone with new song requests. Also, thanks to the other musicians adding their musical contributions to this episode: Dan Frechette, acoustic guitar - www.danfrechette.com, and Dan Robbins, doublebass - www.danrobbinsmusic.com. All other instruments featured (besides those included on the two karaoke backing tracks) were performed by Laurel Thomsen.

Laurel Thomsen's website, including info about her recordings, concerts, and teaching can be found at www.laurelthomsen.com

Please send Laurel an email at [email protected] if you have a violin, viola, fiddle, music biz, or practice related question you’d like answered in her Violin Geek blog or on a podcast, have a topic you'd like her to cover or someone you'd like her to interview, or have a story or insight to share. Also, get in touch if you’d like to inquire about violin, viola, or fiddle coaching or lessons with Laurel via Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom. You're also welcome to post your success story, comments, or suggestions to www.facebook.com/laurelthomsenmusic.

Happy Practicing!

Laurel Thomsen interviews acclaimed viola soloist Brett Deubner, listening to and discussing choice tracks from his recent albums "Mother Earth" and "Transfiguration," learning about his experience working with composers and debuting new music, and sharing tips for performance confidence, moving past setbacks, and creating a clear viola tone whether as a soloist, in an ensemble, or on recording.

Links from the episode:

Learn more about Brett Deubner and purchase his recordings, please visit https://www.brettdeubner.com 

Learn more about Brett's online viola course https://deubnervvs.thinkific.com/

The "Mother Earth" album: https://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv6351/

The "Transfiguration" album: https://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv6355/

Stanley Grill, the composer of the pieces featured on "Transfiguration": https://www.stangrillcomposer.com/

Judith Markovich, the composer of the "Remember" track: https://www.judithmarkovich.com/

Maurizio Bignone, the composer of the "Mother Earth" track: https://mauriziobignone.com/

Laurel Thomsen's website, including info about her recordings, concerts, and teaching can be found at www.laurelthomsen.com

Please send Laurel an email at [email protected] if you have a violin, viola, fiddle, music biz, or practice related  question you’d like answered in the blog or on a podcast, or have a   story or insight to share. Also, get in touch if you’d like to inquire  about violin, viola, or fiddle coaching or lessons with Laurel via  Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom. You're also welcome to post your success  story, comments, or suggestions to www.facebook.com/laurelthomsenmusic.

Happy Practicing!

In this episode Laurel Thomsen is interviewed by award-winning vocalist and FAR-West Board Vice-President, Susie Glaze about her experience with teaching violin and viola online. Long before the Covid-19 pandemic, back in 2009 in fact, Laurel transitioned to primarily teaching online. Here she offers over a decade worth of tips and insight to make the most of the time we spend learning online, with ideas for prospective online teachers and students alike. 

Enjoy the YouTube video version of this interview here https://youtu.be/FpiE5TJ_Fow

Suzie Glaze website https://www.susieglaze.com

FAR-West https://far-west.org

Dan Frechette & Laurel Thomsen Duo (featured music) http://danandlaurel.ca

Laurel Thomsen's website, including info about her recordings, concerts, and teaching can be found at www.laurelthomsen.com

For info specifically about: Lessons with Laurel, see http://www.laurelthomsen.com/Teaching.html; Online Lessons with Laurel, see http://www.laurelthomsen.com/Violin_Lessons_via_Skype.html, and Laurel's blog with more tips for online teachers, see http://www.laurelthomsen.com/Violin_Geek_Blog/Entries/2013/9/30_Advice_for_Skype_music_teachers.html

Please send Laurel an email at [email protected] if you have a violin, viola, fiddle, music biz, or practice related question you’d like answered in the blog or on a podcast, or have a  story or insight to share. Also, get in touch if you’d like to inquire about violin, viola, or fiddle coaching or lessons with Laurel via Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom. You're also welcome to post your success story, comments, or suggestions to  www.facebook.com/laurelthomsenmusic.

Happy Practicing!

If you're a musician, artist, dancer, or maybe a business owner, and you're looking to create more compelling videos, photos, performances, and presentations, listen in as Laurel Thomsen speaks with Justine Lucas, singer-songwriter, director, producer, and the creative spark behind Madwoman Productions, a San Francisco based company helping independent artists and entrepreneurs be seen and heard. 

Madwoman Productions: https://madwomanpro.com

Madwoman Workshops info and links:

Videography 101: July 28th, 2021 at 2:30pm PST https://madwomanpro.com/videography101/

Videography 102: Aug 25th, 2021 at 5:30pm PSThttps://madwomanpro.com/videography-102/

Photography 101: Oct 20th, 2021 at 5:30pm PST https://madwomanpro.com/photography101/

Performance 101: Nov 17th, 2021 at 5:30pm PST https://madwomanpro.com/performance101/

DIY Video Making, 6 week course coming soon https://madwomanpro.com/diyvideo/

Justine Lucas and Madame Z http://www.justinelucas.com

Madame Z collaborator Jonah Udall http://www.jonahudall.com/

Laurel Thomsen's website, including info about her recordings, concerts, and teaching can be found at www.laurelthomsen.com

Please send Laurel an email at [email protected] if you have a violin, viola, fiddle, music biz, or practice related question you’d like answered in the blog or on a podcast, or have a  story or insight to share. Also, get in touch if you’d like to inquire about violin, viola, or fiddle coaching or lessons with Laurel via Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom. You're also welcome to post your success story, comments, or suggestions to  www.facebook.com/laurelthomsenmusic.

You’ve just perfected a difficult passage of your favorite concerto and  grab your smartphone to capture this monumental practice achievement.  You run through the passage again and while not perfect, you still feel  pretty good about your progress. You listen back, expecting to hear  exactly what you thought you heard while you were playing, but it sounds  nasally, distorted, and thin. Sound familiar? What’s going on? Tune in as host Laurel Thomsen helps you avoid the common pitfalls of recording a bowed stringed instrument. 

Original post on the Violin Geek Blog http://www.laurelthomsen.com/Violin_Geek_Blog/Entries/2021/6/3_Recording_a_violin_or_viola_101.html

GarageBand https://www.apple.com/mac/garageband/

Audacity https://www.audacityteam.org/

Laurel Thomsen's website, including info about her recordings, concerts, and teaching can be found at www.laurelthomsen.com

Please send Laurel an email at [email protected] if you have a violin, viola, fiddle, music biz, or practice related question you’d like answered in the blog or on a podcast, or have a story or insight to share. Also, get in touch if you’d like to inquire about violin, viola, or fiddle coaching or lessons with Laurel via Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom). You can also post your success story, comments, or suggestions to my Facebook music page at www.facebook.com/laurelthomsenmusic.

"When we let our passion for the violin extend into the actual process of  learning, welcoming even our out-of-tune notes, missed shifts, and bad  tones as opportunities to find and fix problems, like any great  mechanic, we position ourselves for a lifetime of music making."

In this "pep talk" episode from the Violin Geek Blog, host Laurel Thomsen takes inspiration from aviation technicians! 

Original blog post http://www.laurelthomsen.com/Violin_Geek_Blog/Entries/2021/5/27_For_the_love_of_the_process.html

Original inspiration https://www.instagram.com/p/CPRaJFXB6Y7/?utm_medium=share_sheet

Hilary Hahn practice example https://www.instagram.com/p/CJr-9NhDC2F/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Huberman Lab Podcast episode 20 https://hubermanlab.libsyn.com/how-to-learn-skills-faster-episode-20

For more about Laurel, please visit www.laurelthomsen.com and if you have a question, comment, or suggestion for a topic, please send her an email at [email protected]

Happy Practicing!

"When awareness is channeled appropriately, even most beginners have the skills needed to listen carefully and make elegant intonation adjustments." Join Laurel Thomsen for tips to immediately improve your intonation on the violin, viola, or cello, or the intonation of your students. 

Original Violin Geek Blog post http://www.laurelthomsen.com/Violin_Geek_Blog/Entries/2021/3/31_Improve_your_intonation_now.html

Laurel's website, including info on her online lessons and courses, her recordings, and her performances http://www.laurelthomsen.com

Dan Frechette & Laurel Thomsen Duo http://www.danandlaurel.ca Their fifth album will be released later in 2021 and the intro music to this episode features a sneak peek. 

If you have a comment or question, or a topic you'd like Laurel to cover in her podcast or blog, please send her an email to [email protected]. For those interested in lessons with Laurel via Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom, please send her an email. More information about her teaching methods can be found here http://www.laurelthomsen.com/Teaching.html

This difficult conversation concerning the origins of many popular folk song melodies came up in my teaching studio recently. Especially in light of the police brutality and BLM protests of this past year, addressing the historical context of folk songs seems to be an increasingly important piece of the learning. 

Adam Miller blog post mentioned https://www.folksinging.org/political-correctness-and-traditional-folksongs-can-they-coexist/

Original Violin Geek Blog post http://www.laurelthomsen.com/Violin_Geek_Blog/Entries/2021/2/21_Traditional_folksongs_in_conflict_with_political_correctness_and_racial_equality.html

More about Laurel Thomsen, including her albums, performance schedule, and online lessons at www.laurelthomsen.com

Please reach out if you have any violin, viola, fiddle, music biz, or practice related questions you’d like answered in the blog or on a podcast, or if you have a story or insight to share. Also, if you’d like to share additional information, or perhaps get some violin, viola, or  fiddle coaching or lessons with me in person or via Skype (or FaceTime, or Zoom), please email Laurel at [email protected].