In my time at UT, I am proud of the progress I have accomplished in my violin playing. I am playing pieces that I had only dreamed of playing, participating in and leading ensembles in which I never thought I would be comfortable, and developing a comfort with the instrument that I didn’t know was possible.

I attribute the changes in my playing to one simple exercise Sandy assigns each of her students. Yost, Formula Five is a series of chords played in succession with various bow patterns. It would only take one minute to play through the sequence with full bows at a moderate temp, but I regularly spend 15 minutes on this single exercise at the beginning of every practice. In fact, it is difficult for me to start practice without working on Formula Five. The straightforward exercise allows me to open up my ears and really listen to the sound that is produced from the interaction of my violin and bow. I find myself hyperaware of resonance, bow changes, attack, release, vibrato, and intonation. Not only am I able to use the 15 minutes of work on Yost to diagnose and treat the persistent technical obstacles in making a quality sound, but through 15 minutes of focused, critical listening my ears are warmed up for a practice full of mature and careful listening.

Interestingly, I have discovered this time also gives me an opportunity to take stock of my development as a violinist. I know that I am improving not because I do not hear anything that could be changed to make a better sound, but because I hear more opportunities for change. The difference between the inner listening I have developed and the critical listening of my current playing is the space in which I have room to improve.

In lessons I aim to develop an awareness of the space between ideal sound and current sound in each of my students’ playing. With young students I use listening activities as a “break” and a way to manage the pacing of our lessons. They sit on the floor and compare various pitches, tone qualities, bowings, and rhythms that I present to them with their eyes closed. With more mature students I offer opportunities to critique my playing, their own playing, and the performance of peers in group class. I invite the objective and critical feedback that I attempt to model with the formula of “I heard (this), which was caused by (this),” or “You did (this) which caused me to hear (this).” While I do passage work with students, I work through a sequence that will help them play accurately most quickly. We identify a problem spot, reason through the challenge until the student can play it accurately, repeat the accurate spot many times, and put the challenge spot back into context to test the sustainability of our work. During this detailed work, I inject opportunities to listen in addition to merely following steps. By adding the layer of objective listening, students become aware of the sound they are actually producing, allow technique to serve their musical intent, and are practicing the way that they will ultimately perform. All of this work leads to moments where I can question whether a student is happy with their playing or is ready to move on, and he or she can self identify the need to keep working or acknowledge the success in the changes he or she has made. It is in the confident answers of these questions that I know my students are ready to practice at home and any change is possible.