A Nod to Julius Levine’s Performance Class
Recently a student asked me if there’s a name to all the movements that we do in his lessons to help with his violin-playing. I told him no, that I’d describe those as just a first-principle approach to technique. To me, a first-principle approach consists of an ever-deepening examination of the WHAT it is that we need to do, and an exploration of the very source of the HOW to do it. For instance, if I were a baker and ran into problems with a chemical reaction between two ingredients, I would go to the very source of the where the problem might have occurred-chemistry-to look for answers, rather than in the culinary field. (Which is not to say the collective experience in the culinary field would not be helpful, but that would not be the first place I’d look.)
The other point I made to him was to not get too hung up on specialties. That while applications are different for different things, to just focus on the first-principles of the what’s and how’s, regardless of what he’s doing.
Here are a few examples of my working with musicians of different instruments. They can all benefit from the specialized knowledge of someone in their own area, but true musicianship cuts across all instruments and genres. The teacher who’s formed the most elemental kernel of my musicianship is the late double bassist Julius Levine. He used to teach a performance class at Mannes that’s open to all graduate students. I was not enrolled since I was an undergrad-but he told me I was the only student who was there every single week. (And trust me, I was terrible with attendance for every other class). He was not just an instrumentalist but a true musician, and his influence is formative for me, to this day.
There’s musicianship: what music is. But how to actualize it-the mechanics to operate the body to maneuver an instrument. I like to think of technique as mechanics fitted into musicianship. But understanding movement mechanics requires going to the appropriate source for education. Much like a baker going to a chemist for answers, I’ve been looking for mine in people who understand movement and the body. And I also learn from them to sharpen my eye to understand the individual needs of different bodies.
Many of the concepts I’ve used here I’ve learned and adapted from Adarian Barr. I’m grateful for his continual inspiration.
You can also see the videos here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CwQKi7YSnLv/?img_index=1