Technique Flies High!: Violin Book

Cohen writes studies that demand real musicianship, not just mechanical drilling. Each piece uses distinctive stylistic material to anchor the technique being developed, so students encounter harmonics within a baroque texture, or pizzicato-arco changes in a folk idiom. The included practice and performance tips distinguish this from generic etude collections; they give both you and your student a clear roadmap for what matters in each study.

The collection moves fluidly between historical and modern sensibilities. You'll work through baroque-inspired counterpoint, romantic-era virtuosity, contemporary harmonic color, and folk melody, each filtered through Cohen's distinctive voice. The studies feel alive and purposeful, not like exercises.

Advanced violinists ready to tackle contemporary techniques alongside traditional musicianship. This book suits students preparing for advanced repertoire, conservatory auditions, or those simply hungry for material that stretches both left and right hands in equal measure.

• Treat natural and artificial harmonics as musical gestures, not just special effects. Notice the harmonic content in each passage and let that shape your tone production and phrasing.
• In studies involving unusual time signatures, count internally rather than relying on visual pattern recognition. This trains your ear to lock onto the pulse regardless of notational complexity.
• When working rapid arco-pizzicato transitions, practice the hand position changes separately from the bow rhythm. Only combine them once each element is comfortable in isolation.
• Embrace the improvisation studies as genuine composition in miniature. The 'strict boundaries' Cohen provides are liberation, not limitation; they focus your creative choices and prevent aimless wandering.

These studies work brilliantly as individual concert pieces, so you can slot them into student recitals at strategic points during the year. They're equally valuable in the practice room as preparation for the advanced concerto repertoire your students are pursuing.

• Advanced position changing across multiple strings and registers
• Fast passage work and string crossing coordination
• Natural and artificial harmonics in musical context
• Slow bowing control and sustaining multiple notes per bow
• Reading and playing in unusual or shifting time signatures
• Free improvisation within compositional frameworks
• Double stopping and intonation balance
• Rapid, clean transitions between arco and pizzicato