June 2011

Teacher Talk

A series of teaching-articles in the Strad Magazine

What is the most powerful exercise you ever use that brings the quickest, biggest change, in any area of technique?
Jake Strauss, New York, US
Boris Kuschnir: Many students play ricochet by throwing the bow on the string so that they have no control over the sound of every note and can only play a very short ricochet. My advice is to move only the wrist with a very quick kick downwards – not with the fingers, or the elbow. This exercise immediately makes the ricochet longer and improves the quality of each note.