Featured Blog Posts
All Blog Posts
Search
Neil Fong Gilfillan
- Oct 22, 2019
- 2 min
Call and Response Jam for You and Your Students (Get Your Instrument Ready for this one!)
Your turn! Call and response is a great way to get students connecting their instruments to what they hear. It’s also a safe way to lead...
191 views0 comments
Neil Fong Gilfillan
- Mar 1, 2018
- 5 min
Repetition and Practice Strategies: What We Learned From Playing String Commander
About a month ago, I was working with a student who was struggling with focusing on smaller sections of his music with practice. His mom...
181 views0 comments
Neil Fong Gilfillan
- Aug 18, 2017
- 2 min
Review - Beyond the Music Lesson: Habits of Successful Suzuki Families
Christine Wilson Goodner’s Beyond the Music Lesson is a well-thought out resource written for Suzuki parents and teachers alike. My...
112 views0 comments
Rachel Samson
- May 1, 2017
- 5 min
Practice Ideas for You
Often studio parents will fill us in on their practice week like this: “We did x, y, z, and then, because we felt like it, we made a...
193 views0 comments
Rachel Samson
- Apr 17, 2017
- 4 min
High Definition for the Practicing Parent
Chili takes a moment to self reflect. Photo cred: Keli Cardoso de Melo Ever feel like you're only getting a fraction of the work done at...
104 views0 comments
Neil Fong Gilfillan
- Apr 12, 2017
- 2 min
Put Your Phone Down, Flip It And Reverse It: Learning Music With The Selfie Cam
Lights, Camera, Action! Most of my cello teachers had a mirror that we would use in lessons, and they suggested having one at home to get...
209 views0 comments
Neil Fong Gilfillan
- Mar 31, 2017
- 1 min
The Non Fancy Guide to Controlling Vibrato
Kung Fu Movie Trailer or Cello Vid? Read on to find out... Last week, at the request of some of my orchestra director friends, I put my...
833 views0 comments
Rachel Samson
- Mar 20, 2017
- 5 min
Them's Fightin' Words! Using Verbal Judo to Guide Your Child in Practice
As I shared a few weeks back on Instagram, I have been reading George J. Thompson and Jerry B. Jenkins’ Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of...
276 views0 comments
Neil Fong Gilfillan
- Feb 17, 2017
- 3 min
Think Like A Gamer: Power Up Your String Player Stats
Photo credit: Keli Cardoso de Melo As a kid growing up, video games pushed me into a world where the outcome was completely up to me....
313 views0 comments
Neil Fong Gilfillan
- Dec 12, 2016
- 2 min
Divide and Conquer!
If you want to build a solid foundation for string playing, it's important to make sure that the player is focused on tone, intonation,...
262 views0 comments
Neil Fong Gilfillan
- Nov 4, 2016
- 1 min
Practice a Straight Bow with "The Bow Ghost"
When I first learned this exercise as a student, it revolutionized how I approached the motion of keeping a straight bow. I hope it's as...
731 views0 comments
Neil Fong Gilfillan
- Sep 19, 2016
- 1 min
Let's play Mississippi Stop Stop
Are you tired of playing Mississippi Stop Stop all by yourself? Problem solved--we can play it together in this video! If you were born...
91 views0 comments
Neil Fong Gilfillan
- Sep 19, 2016
- 1 min
Want a better bow hold? Try the Mouse House.
If you want an easy way to remember how to set up a beautiful bow hold, check out the Mouse House. I made this video especially for my...
192 views0 comments
Neil Fong Gilfillan
- Sep 13, 2016
- 1 min
3 Ways to Make Your Practice Space Better
Practice makes permanent, so make sure you're set up for success! These tips don't just work for violin, viola, and cello--they work for...
108 views0 comments
Neil Fong Gilfillan
- Oct 30, 2014
- 4 min
Practicing Cello - Let's Do This!
Even though every student is unique and has their own challenges to overcome on cello, the basics of good practicing stay the same. Most...
69 views0 comments