Playing a stringed instrument should be as natural to us as breathing.

Music is a part of our nature. Rhythm comes as naturally to us as walking or clapping (in fact, it is difficult not to be rhythmical in these everyday movements). Melody, too, comes naturally to us. The same is true for phrasing and expression. Even a very young child uses his voice, facial expression and body movements to express his feelings – from joy to anger. Young players should be encouraged to use these inborn instincts in their approach to their instruments and the making of music. It is the healthiest foundation – and the most useful.

In playing the cello – or violin or viola – the use of our hands and bodies should be as natural as in any other thing we do. We pick up a glass and our fingers and thumb relate to each other in a perfectly balanced and natural way – and our hands should relate to our instrument in the same way. I always encourage students (of any age) when confronted with a problem to find a similar natural everyday task or movement and observe the way they do that – and then transfer that to their instrument. Our instruments should never be viewed as something foreign and apart from our other activities.

I realize that this sounds over-simplified – playing a stringed instrument in the end does require a great deal of highly specialized skill. But this skill needs to be based on a foundation of naturalness. Any unnatural use of the body in playing only stands in the way of true musical expression.

If you ask a beginning student who is just able to play a scale – or even before that – to use the bow to depict different ideas: “tin soldiers marching”, “honey flowing”, “fairies dancing”, “clouds floating overhead”, they will use their bow stroke differently for each image. By using his or her imagination with the these concepts, the student will quite naturally play martelé, legato, spiccato or flautando bow strokes. Technique grows out of the imagination. How much easier it is to involve the student’s imagination than it is to go into long explanations of “technique”.

Young players at all levels of playing should be encouraged to relate to the music they are playing and find ways to use their instrument to express the emotion the music engenders in them – to approach the music with the same innocence they would have if they did not have an instrument in their hands. Technique – the physical aspect of playing – should never be allowed to interfere with a young person’s relationship to the music.