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Principles of Violin Playing and Teaching
A celebrated instructor explains his philosophy of teaching and practice methods, including the appropriate combination of technique and interpretation. Ivan Galamian, a longtime Juilliard professor, incorporates aspects of both the Russian and French schools in a system both ingenious and logical. His tutelage has produced astonishing results with students, many of whom rank among the world's most acclaimed concert artists and orchestral concertmasters.
Suitable for violin teachers and students of all ages and levels, this guide presents general principles and offers practical suggestions related to posture, holding the instrument and bow, vibrato movements, intonation, tone production, bowing patterns, double stops, trills, and many other facets of playing and practice. This edition features a new Introduction by Sally Thomas, violin virtuoso and Galamian's former student.
Suitable for violin teachers and students of all ages and levels, this guide presents general principles and offers practical suggestions related to posture, holding the instrument and bow, vibrato movements, intonation, tone production, bowing patterns, double stops, trills, and many other facets of playing and practice. This edition features a new Introduction by Sally Thomas, violin virtuoso and Galamian's former student.
- GenresMusicNonfictionEducation
130 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1964
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 11, 2011
Very useful book, if I teach someone when I finish my studies, I hope I will leave an impression like him on my students. His way of teaching is something that not many teachers have (having had about a dozen teachers since I've started playing the violin)and it shows that he has a lot of wisdom for everything that he says is very logical but not many people know. This was a great book and I hope more teachers will go by it in the future. His technique in playing shows even without him actually playing the violin for his readers, which could help a lot for beginner and advanced students. I think this is one of the best books for violin playing and teaching I've ever read (if not the only one).
Mr. Galamian is a legacy that I hope lives on for people to see and learn from :) I would recommend to any violin student, no matter what level I'm sure they will get something out of this book by Ivan Galamian...
Interest level: High
Reading level: Very high
Mr. Galamian is a legacy that I hope lives on for people to see and learn from :) I would recommend to any violin student, no matter what level I'm sure they will get something out of this book by Ivan Galamian...
Interest level: High
Reading level: Very high
February 28, 2015
I purchased this book (Kindle version) after watching a tutorial by my violin hero and role model, maestro Itzak Perlman.
What drew me to this book was not only a recommendation by Mr Perlman, but also the wealth of experience presented by the author. Of particular note are the references to correlation (how mind co-ordinates the physical movement of the fingers) and the importance of understanding punctuation, vowels (smooth) and consonents (accented) type notes. The text is also amply illustrated with photographs and notation and these are very welcome indeed.
Overall I consider it money well spent.
What drew me to this book was not only a recommendation by Mr Perlman, but also the wealth of experience presented by the author. Of particular note are the references to correlation (how mind co-ordinates the physical movement of the fingers) and the importance of understanding punctuation, vowels (smooth) and consonents (accented) type notes. The text is also amply illustrated with photographs and notation and these are very welcome indeed.
Overall I consider it money well spent.
November 4, 2016
Fairly well detailed as far as I can tell as a beginner. There were a few things I could immediately apply to my own playing, and I think this will be the sort of book that can be referenced throughout ones violin journey.
March 10, 2008
This book is my Bible
May 6, 2015
Written by the renowned Ivan Galamian, this book integrates a combination of pedagogy, theory and technical applications. It is a book that would be useful to both violin teachers and students.
June 4, 2019
This book is not for the faint of heart--and it probably wasn't a good idea for me to read it, either!
So why did I give it five stars?
Because it's not that I shouldn't have read it. It's that, as a beginning violinist, I was pretty overwhelmed by Page 30. Up to that point, I thought I could keep up. But after that ...
This is one of those books I will return to again and again. I'm sure as I learn more and understand more, the concepts in this book will make more sense. A terrific resource, probably its strongest poins are its insistence that there should not be a rigid, regimented way of teaching the violin because people are as different as they are. The principles to be taught should be the same, and the goals for achieving technical skill shouldn't waver. But most other things will be highly individual. On a very practical level, the author illustrates this point with many diagrams showing how people with differently shaped or sized hands must do things differently to end up with the same result.
So why did I give it five stars?
Because it's not that I shouldn't have read it. It's that, as a beginning violinist, I was pretty overwhelmed by Page 30. Up to that point, I thought I could keep up. But after that ...
This is one of those books I will return to again and again. I'm sure as I learn more and understand more, the concepts in this book will make more sense. A terrific resource, probably its strongest poins are its insistence that there should not be a rigid, regimented way of teaching the violin because people are as different as they are. The principles to be taught should be the same, and the goals for achieving technical skill shouldn't waver. But most other things will be highly individual. On a very practical level, the author illustrates this point with many diagrams showing how people with differently shaped or sized hands must do things differently to end up with the same result.
October 16, 2019
Very specific instruction and ideas on teaching violin. Helpful pictures and practice ideas.
August 18, 2022
Helpful, thorough, and enjoyable.
February 8, 2025
principles and so much more.
March 30, 2016
Super valuable resource for violinists, at a certain level.
If you give this to a beginner, they will not understand 99% of what is going on. But for someone like me, who has been studying the craft for a number of years, Galamian not only tells you how to play, but how to practice, and throughout, how to teach. I really like the way he breaks down practicing into three "times" - building time, interpreting time, and performing time. With the right hand he goes into the three variables of sound production - pressure, speed, and sounding point, and compares the arm to a system of springs, which I found to be a helpful image.
He emphasizes how each individual is different and needs to find their own balance and feel, yet he is not vague and wishy-washy, because he provides exercises for each technique (which I have screenshotted and am sure to use!) and examples for applicability in the standard violin repertoire.
If you're looking for a violin method (like Suzuki) you will not find it here. Galamian is full of guidelines rather than a program. And it's a very good one at that - I'm sure it will be a valid investment of time for players more advanced than me as well!
If you give this to a beginner, they will not understand 99% of what is going on. But for someone like me, who has been studying the craft for a number of years, Galamian not only tells you how to play, but how to practice, and throughout, how to teach. I really like the way he breaks down practicing into three "times" - building time, interpreting time, and performing time. With the right hand he goes into the three variables of sound production - pressure, speed, and sounding point, and compares the arm to a system of springs, which I found to be a helpful image.
He emphasizes how each individual is different and needs to find their own balance and feel, yet he is not vague and wishy-washy, because he provides exercises for each technique (which I have screenshotted and am sure to use!) and examples for applicability in the standard violin repertoire.
If you're looking for a violin method (like Suzuki) you will not find it here. Galamian is full of guidelines rather than a program. And it's a very good one at that - I'm sure it will be a valid investment of time for players more advanced than me as well!
May 3, 2017
Este livro é fantástico, simplesmente.
Quem toca violino conhece o Galamian. Ele foi um professor de violino extremamente famoso, inclusive ensinou violinistas famosos, como por exemplo, Itzak Perlman. Nesse livro, ele explica os princípios pelos quais ele era guiado ao ensinar violino.
O livro é dividido em basicamente três capítulos: A mão esquerda, a mão direita e sobre prática. Cada um dos capítulos é muito bem construído com explicações sobre técnicas, exemplos de exercícios, erros mais comuns e meios para saná-los.
Não recomendo para um aluno muito iniciante, já que vários conselhos pedem um pouco de conhecimento do violino, além de uma boa leitura de partituras. Para quem já sabe algumas técnicas vale super a pena. Para professores, devo dizer que é essencial a leitura, pelo menos uma vez!
Quem toca violino conhece o Galamian. Ele foi um professor de violino extremamente famoso, inclusive ensinou violinistas famosos, como por exemplo, Itzak Perlman. Nesse livro, ele explica os princípios pelos quais ele era guiado ao ensinar violino.
O livro é dividido em basicamente três capítulos: A mão esquerda, a mão direita e sobre prática. Cada um dos capítulos é muito bem construído com explicações sobre técnicas, exemplos de exercícios, erros mais comuns e meios para saná-los.
Não recomendo para um aluno muito iniciante, já que vários conselhos pedem um pouco de conhecimento do violino, além de uma boa leitura de partituras. Para quem já sabe algumas técnicas vale super a pena. Para professores, devo dizer que é essencial a leitura, pelo menos uma vez!
December 25, 2010
Well, I've skimmed through and found much of it immediately useful, but really haven't come close to reading it all...finally purchased it after getting it from the library a half dozen times...look forward to enjoying it for many years to come, especially as my instructor was a student of Galamian...what a legacy...
July 9, 2008
The technique is solid, the pics are precise, the exercises applicable. I play and teach by it! But man, for being such a great teacher Galamian was no writer. So much of the copy could have been simplified and clarified to make this a much more powerful teaching tool.
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October 20, 2015This is a very good book if u learn violin playing. Especially if you just start to learn violin. There are parts may be too difficult for beginner but really worth in reading it.
February 5, 2016
Just awesome!!!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews