Creative Strings with Violinist Christian Howes

How to teach more to your students without burning out? How to prioritize your own musical goals without sacrificing too much of your time. The key is a Flexible mindset and Creative strategies to get the balance you want. Austin Scelzo is an exemplar of a young person taking courageous steps in that direction- making moves in his music and career and contributing in huge ways to his communities a...

5 ways to help improve your relationship with music and the thing at the core of it all. Get my free masterclass at www.christianhowes.com/education

Marlene Cruz Lozano shares insights for adult violin students and teachers. Her Violin Bootcamp centers adult women violin students, their goals, and needs.

Join us with Guest Speakers Caleigh Drane & William Seiji Marsh as we discuss how to conquer your stage fright and better achieve your musical goals through mindfulness and mindful practice.

Fiddlers Casey Driessen and Christian Howes discuss extensive clips from Casey’s album Otherlands. We talk about chopping/rhythm, and other aspects of musical collaboration for fiddlers and string players who want to expand their creative voice, musical community, and career or lifestyle. We play a tune together as well in this hour-long interview. Find more at www.christianhowes.com

Join us with Guest Speaker Drew Alexander Forde (ThatViolaKid) as we talk about his work as a violist, composer, entrepreneur, and social media wizard. Violist Drew Alexander Forde has a reputation not only as an accomplished performer but also as one of classical music’s most recognizable online brands. He is the co-host of Faking Notes Podcast and an acclaimed expert in classical music’s social...

Music therapy techniques in teaching strings.with Raquel Ravaglioli, a board-certified music therapist, music instructor, and professional violinist. Raquel talks about being balanced while helping others find their personal and musical niche, through building strong professional relationships. To learn more and connect with Raquel Ravaglioli see her website here: http://raquelchristinemusic.com/​...

Composer David Cutler discussed reimagining Suzuki Violin book 1 with new arrangements of the famous pieces in many styles.

In this episode of the Creative Strings Podcast Christian Howes dives into techniques for easily and effectively teaching music online.

How to Sell & Offer ANY Freelance services right now (for musicians, music teachers or anyone just trying to figure out ways to get work) Mindset- My attitude: I am not proud. I will dig ditches, wash dishes, or do anything necessary to survive. We can a) resign ourselves to defeat and give up b) lash out c) TRY to overcome. I prefer C. Obviously it is preferable to find work at higher hourly rate...

Andrea Whitt is a musician who is living the dream. She tours the world with rock stars, manages her own fashion blog, produces fine art, and plays a variety of instruments in a variety of styles. Given the common wisdom that string players must start by age six to have a chance at success,  she has defied the odds ever since starting the viola in public school at 8 years old. Listen to this full...

Hamilton Hardin on Becoming a Complete Musician: Any Genre, Any Instrument Have you ever worked hard learning a jazz tune with all its 9ths, 13ths, half-diminished-whatevers, only to flip on the radio and hear a pop song with the same 4 chords over and over? Some musicians wonder how jazz and other styles are so complex but it’s the basic pop that sells mainstream. If you asked multi-instrumentali...

If you’re a classical musician who would like to join a band and play confidently in new styles of music, I put together a checklist to make it less overwhelming, The checklist will give you a few things: How to know when and what to play. How to avoid "writers block", i.e., the feeling of having no idea what to do. How to avoid getting "in a rut", i.e., finding yourself always repeating the same...

In my full interview with Jean Luc Ponty for the Creative Strings Podcast, we explore key points in his development, musical conception, elements of his violin playing, the state of the music industry in general, and more. For example, how he started playing jazz on violin, the influence of Stuff Smith, the role of the bow arm in improvisation, changes in the world of classical violin, attitudes a...

When I was growing up people used to say that you should go into music only if you feel you don't have a choice. For those of us that made that choice to go into music, we were inspired by this feeling that we must do it. We had a passion, that kept us awake at night, kept us in the practice room, kept us developing new skills... That's why we went into music. The thing is, when people get out of...

To be human is to make stuff; creativity is natural. Yet it feels incredibly risky to put our creative work out there for people to vote up or down. It feels personal, like people may accept or reject us. We're drawn to the ideas and voices of people who have the courage to take that risk and make something distinctive. Beyond possessing courage, you could say artists who do this consistently...

Jazz Violinist Regina Carter dives into her inspiring beginnings as a stand-alone jazz violinist, jumping to jazz from classical training, inspiring stories of encouraging mentors, and also, her tender experiences of supporting her elderly mother and other loved ones through music. Check out the blog post with show notes here: https://christianhowes.com/2018/08/13/regina-carter-creative-strings-po...

Introducing Season 4 of the Creative Strings Podcast! In this episode I share my newly released arrangement of Bach’s Violin Partita #2 (Giga) and preview the upcoming interviews in this season of the Creative Strings Podcast including Regina Carter, Andrea Whitt, Stash Wyslouch, and Joan Griffing. Subscribe to the Creative Strings Podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts to catch all of these...

Guitarist Rez Abbasi is well known for his distinctive fusing of modern jazz with influences from Hindu North Indian music and Pakistani traditional music. In this episode of the Creative Strings Podcast, hear him reflect upon how he developed his own voice as a player and composer, as well as what it means for musicians jumping cultural boundaries to explore a wider variety of music. Check out th...

Imagine, as a musician, if you lost the ability to use your hands. How would you recover? How would you find fulfillment, and what would replace the void in your self image? If you're like most musicians, your craft is a big part of your identity, and even self worth. A debilitating injury would clearly be devastating for most of us. But what might you learn about yourself in the aftermath, and is...

Read the blog post here: http://bit.ly/CSpodcast28 Janie Barnett's new CD, "You See This River" is original, personal, and beautiful; the fact that she put it out 30 years into her career intrigued me. I wanted to know how she's managed to piece her career together so many years, before, during, and after raising children, all the time staying in NYC. I wanted to find out how an artist keeps their...

Remember when classical violinist Joshua Bell played in the subway for 45 minutes and made $32? The author of the story raised questions about artistic context and the loss of appreciation for beauty in modern life. A similar experiment was conducted and written about almost 100 years ago, with a similar focus, and here’s my completely different take on the whole thing: Live music makes a huge dif...

Download my video starter worksheet for musicians here(free): http://bit.ly/2kM5bE4 Get my favorite tools- TubeBuddy: http://bit.ly/2q7nkAg YouTube StarterKit: http://bit.ly/2izzkq7 In this video I cover: Why video is essential for any self-employed musician in 2018, why your career is likely to suffer if you don’t have videos, how making videos will benefit your musical and business growth, and w...

After staying up until 7 a.m. surrounded by Flamenco guitar, dancing, and singing in a room full of people clapping knowingly along to the Bulería, Tango, and Soleá, I was forever changed. It was my first trip to Spain in 2001, and I had just discovered the music world’s best kept secret. Following 20 more trips to Spain, I get to share a bit of that magic with you today in a fully produced audio...

Neil Fong Gilfillan and Rachel Samson are creative, inspiring young string teachers. Together they run the teaching studio in Frisco, TX called Chili Dog Strings . This husband and wife duo combine a love of tradition in the Suzuki method with a curiosity for adventure, showcasing the complimentary styles they bring together in their teaching studio. They serve their local community with private a...