Transform Your Sound With 'Catch & Release,' The Secret Of Bowing Beautifully 

Hello Santa! You were very fortunate in your teacher. Thank you! Mary💗

Hello! I'm delighted you found the video helpful. I love your insightful phrase "new purpose for every stroke.' Enjoy your practice! Mary💗

Thank you very much, I appreciate that! Mary❤️

Hello Christopher! What a wonderful thing to return to violin and viola with your wife - such a lovely retirement idea. I can see you playing Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante together... Yes, teaching was very different back then, wasn't it, especially knowledge and availability of shoulder rests. Thank you very much for your kind words about my videos. (I'm sitting in a cafe at the moment because the internet has gone down at home, so hopefully I'll be up and running with a new video soon!) May you have a joyful, peaceful and creative year; Happy New Year! Mary💗

Hello! That's exactly what I said when I discovered this wonderful technique! I hope you enjoy your practice. Mary💗

Thank you Peter. Mary💗

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked the video! Mary💗

🙏❤. I love people who give knowledge other people. 🕊🌸🌸🌸💞🕊

Tanja! What a wonderful thing to say! Mary💗

Hello! Your students are very lucky! I've always found Dr. Suzuki to be wonderfully wise in the way he connects the body to the function on the violin. For example, when the first finger is in a good position to perform the 'catch,' the hand is flatter and closer to the bow and it's exactly like a panda paw...exquisite understanding! The 'catch' is a tiny moment, isn't it, and the energy of the 'release' part transforms the whole sound and feel of the stroke...so exciting! (When I discovered this technique for myself I called it 'click bowing' and I suppose I still prefer 'click' rather than 'catch' actually, but oh well😊) Thank you very much! Mary❤

Hello, thank you very much! Mary💗

Hello Barry! I hope you really enjoy putting it into practice! Thanks, Mary💗

Hello nickie! Of course you can learn to do it, beginner or not - I order you to do it!!😄☺😄 Take care of yourself. Mary💗

Hello Ann! I'm so pleased for you; vibrato makes all the difference! Mary💗

Hello Mary! Well thank you very much for being so kind about my sound. From your picture you look very young to me, but then, I'm 66! I'm so delighted you are finding my videos helpful. I know it's not the easiest thing to learn violin, but it's a magnificent undertaking and so rewarding and fascinating. Please contact me any time if there's anything at all you want to ask and I'll do my best to help... Take care, and enjoy it all! Mary💗

Same here! I'm 64, no clue how to when read music. Hearing and vision impaired, but what is life without a good challenge? Thank you, Mary, for your helpful guidance!

Hello Diana! You must have a great love of music to challenge yourself this way - congratulations! I'm delighted if my videos help you and remember to contact me any time if there's anything at all I could help you with. Take care, Mary💗

Hello! Thank you so much for your kind words...I'm very thankful you feel the videos are helpful. It's inspiring to know that you are playing and learning. Please let me know if you have a question or something you'd like to see in a video and I'll do my best... I wish you a very Happy Violin New Year! Mary💗

I’m a 72 year old beginner, and I’m having a ball. I just wish I’d have stuck with it when I was a kid. I only lasted a year then I got hurt and stopped.

Hello nickie! It's so wonderful to hear you're enjoying your violin - congratulations, that's the spirit...I'm sorry you had to stop when you were a kid, but you seem to be making up for it now.😄Take care! Mary💗

Hello! Thank you very much for your kind words. You've reminded me about when I was a kid I would play my violin like a cello for fun and I did 'catch' easily and naturally (something about the cello position makes it natural?) but when I then did it on my violin in normal position my teacher was horrified and forbade it as 'bad technique.' So I forgot about it until I worked with a marvellous player who had been taught by Dorothy DeLay...etc... All these years later it's still not widely taught; it's a puzzle when, as you said, it's tiny but essential.. Anyway, thanks for reminding me of long dormant memories. I hope your wife has a wonderful time joining the world of the violin, especially with you to help her along! Take care and Happy New Year! Mary💗

Hello! I hope you enjoy practicing this! Mary💗

Thank you very much! Mary💗

Hello Mary! Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy your practice! Mary💗

Hello Lora! Isn't it strange that this little detail of bow technique, so crucial and easily learned, is so often missing from teaching violin? As you know, on violin, everything has a consequence further down the line and there's a reason for everything. The great fascination is working it all out as much as possible and enjoying it all! I'm so glad you liked the video, thank you very much. You have a really lovely channel - keep up the good work! Mary💗

Thank you so much! I love what you're doing as well! You're a wonderful teacher!@@violinstudiowithmaryv

@@MeadowlarkViolin❤

Hello Tony! Thank you very much for your very kind words and support with i really appreciate! As you know, all technique has to be adapted and customised for ourselves. But the application of technique is impossible without understanding how and why to apply it. So the underlying principles, attitude and philosophy which I attempt to convey are as important as the techniques themselves and that's the personal part that every violinist must engage with, well beyond my videos! Mary💗

Hello! Thank you for your kind words. How fortunate your pupils are! Perhaps you are similar to Heifitz and Menuhin, who as children performed violin techniques as naturally as breathing! For the rest of us mere mortals, recognising a technique consciously helps us to explore and develop it thoroughly. Mary💗

@@violinstudiowithmaryv oh, you're very sweet. No, I had a wonderful teacher in high school who taught me this, and it stuck. I should be better at my vocabulary, though. 😁 I'll refer my students to your channel for videos like this.

@@SoundEngraver Thank you! Mary💗

Can you recommend a decent violin for beginning adult?

@@henrikgustav2294 Depends on your price range. If you want a student model, I recommend the Strobel ML Recital series, 205, 500, and 700. If you want something more, make an appointment with your closest luthier. You'll get your best quality there. 🙂

Thanks, I hope you find it helpful! Mary❤

Hello Bonnie! Wow, how beautifully expressed; 'Music comes alive under the bow!' Thank you for such inspiration. Mary💗

Hello! I'm glad you connected the left hand into this. It's a great insight. In fact you have many insights. I feel sure you will find the beautiful sound you are searching for. This wonderful technique is one of the great violin secrets. Keep going! Thank you and Happy New Year. Mary💗

Hello Letitia! (What a beautiful name) I'm so delighted to hear that you're on a quest that's so dear to my own heart - to play beautifully... If there's anything you think I could help you with please contact me and I'll do my best, ok? Let's make it a beautiful New Year - the world needs inspiration! Mary💗

@@violinstudiowithmaryv Thank you for your lovely response! I appreciate your lessons and tips that you post so much!

Thank you Matt! Mary❤️

Greetings and thank you! Mary💗

Hello - I hope you get on really well with your experiments! Mary💗

Hello jerry! I'm glad you like the video! You are very kind, thank you. Mary❤

@@violinstudiowithmaryv🙏🙏❤️

Hello there, thank you! Mary💗

Hello - thank you very much! Mary💗

Hello MsKatherineJo! This technique is the gateway to another world of sound; beautiful, exciting and something to really love and nurture. It's usually taught at a very advanced level, but it's very easy to learn and I see no reason it shouldn't be available for everyone to be inspired by! Happy New Year! Mary💗

Hello Alastair! Thank you for your very kind words! Happy New Year! Mary💗

I'm very glad you liked the video! Mary💗

Hello! I too was puzzled for a long time about this great violin secret mystery! I hope you really enjoy your practice...Mary💗

Thank you so much for resolving this mystery. Your wonderful video is amazingly detailed and simple to understand. I've just incorporated it to my daughter's practice routine, she's 8 and year 2 in her violin journey. Her bow grip is in good form and this small but important technique will help set a solid foundation. I told her must always - first to catch the string, then release the sound. As always, Slowly catching on

@@Captain-Slow Wonderful! Fantastic! Just one thing, ensure that your daughter doesn't forget how to start a stroke without the catch, as we need to mix with and without the catch together...Take care! Mary💗

Thanks panther! Mary💗

Hello Lola! Thank you so much for your inspiring spirit, determination and encouragement - I'm very honoured by our companionship! I'm sure you will especially love the results of 'catch and release.' Learning how to do it is very easy and it becomes natural and integrated very quickly because the sound is so desirable!It's like a secret you discover that you can love and cherish, a wonderful thing for your playing and your heart.💓 I hope you have a wonderful, joyful and peaceful New Year, Lola! Mary💗

Hello Johannes! I'm so glad you liked the video and thank you very much for your kind words. Happy New Year! Mary💗

Glad you liked it! Mary💗

Hello! I'm very glad and I hope you enjoy putting this wonderful technique into your playing; you'll love the results! Happy New Year...Mary💗

Hate the word engaged for a bow. How vague and useless

@@M_SCI described what I meant by engaged above...that feeling like you can rock the string back and forth with the bow without making sound. hope this helps

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it! Mary💗

Hello - I hope you enjoy your practice! Mary💗

@@violinstudiowithmaryv Thanks for asking and I did practice. It takes time to be comfortable with. 💙💙

@@ViolinWithRadmehr Good for you! Keep going! Mary💗

Hello, thank you very much! All the best. Mary💗

Hello Derwish! I wish you all the best for learning the viola. I'm very glad the video was helpful. Thank you for your good wishes...Mary💗

Hello willy! Thank you very much for your lovely Christmas greeting. We had a lovely peaceful time here as I hope you did. I'm delighted you're working on "Songs...' there's something particularly beautiful about this song and it's deservedly very popular. I hope you are enjoying developing and playing it. Happy New Year to you - let's make it a great year! Take Care and thank you. Mary💗

Hello! Also called 'click' bowing, colle, mini martele etc...for a technique with so many names it's amazing it's not more widely known, isn't it? When I learned about this I was so joyful; I had been obsessed with sound for such a long time! I think violinists should learn this beautiful technique early on. Not only does it provide a much more thorough and subtle bowing technique, but it's so helpful to progress when the sound is beautiful. Mary💗

Hello Rosemary! How nice of you, thank you! Mary💗

@@violinstudiowithmaryv my pleasure Mary🤗 Happy New Year 💫✨️💫✌️

Hello Lydia. Not quite. The catch is performed at the same dynamic as the stroke. The 'catch' provides an articulated sound to the stroke, rather than any measurable dynamic increase. There's a bit in the video at 43 secs where I demonstrate how catch and release can be performed within different dynamics. It's more that the catch releases a beautiful kind of energy into the stroke that transforms the whole sound... Mary💗

Thank you very much! Mary💗

Hello Hannah! Everything we do on the violin is in service to sound ultimately. Sound is really frequencies created and transmitted by us using ourselves and our instrument. We practice techniques to produce the most pleasing and appropriate sound possible and we need to form the habit of including a consideration of our sound along with everything else we're working on every single time we play and practice. Thinking of violin playing this way puts sound at the centre of everything we do. However, the crucial element for sound is learning how to listen and listening becomes more discerning and more powerful as our awareness grows...it's amazing how much trained listening alters our attention.. I hope you enjoy your bowing experiments and love the sound you make! Happy New Year. Mary💗

Hah, true! Thinking about it more, I maybe should say that I think I sometimes have a good instinct on how to produce sound, but it goes away the minute I miss a string or have bad intonation. It's about confidence, eventually. And since I miss the strings a lot, I feel like working on that might be the most important technical thing at the moment. But I don't even know. There's a lot that can be improved, and hopefully I'll have years to do that :) Happy new year to you, too! ✨✨✨ And thank you for your inspiring channel and your generosity in sharing experience and opinions, and the kindness with which you do that.

@@hannahschneyder6651 I love your attitude - you're an inspiration! Take care, Mary💗

Hello Janet! Great question. The great thing about catch & release is that it changes everything in your bowing; the touch and feel in your hand and arm and the sound you're producing, so practicing it thoroughly using all types of strokes is recommended. Then when we want to reintroduce 'soft' strokes, we discover that our 'soft' strokes are also transformed by catch and release because our touch and listening have become much more sophisticated. So mixing 'catch' and 'soft' is very much our goal ultimately, dictated by our musical sensibilities. Mary 💗

I should have better explained my question. When playing any piece, would catch and release always be the goal in general on each new bow direction for better tone? ​@violinstudiowithmaryv

@@janetdoherty6228 Learn catch and release thoroughly by applying it to everything. Then reintroduce soft starts. The goal is a mixture. Mary💗

Excellent. Thank you so much for helping me to understand how to move foward practicing and then incorporating this new skill. It makes a huge difference. You have a gifted way of teaching and your personal peacefulness is an absolute delight. I believe this videao as well as the video on bow hand wrist finger flexibility will help me move to a new level of playing. Thank you again.​@@violinstudiowithmaryv

@@janetdoherty6228 I detect a determination and confidence in your words that will take you to a new level of playing, just as you said. Have a wonderful Violin Year!! Mary💗

Well, learn how to do it first, then experience the changes and improved touch the technique offers, then learn to apply your whole bowing response, including catch and release, to your music... Mary❤

@@violinstudiowithmaryv thank you so much! is it possible to have one online lesson?

Thanks, I'm glad you like my vibrato. There are videos all about vibrato on my channel which I hope you will find helpful. Mary🙂

Sounds like you're angling for a compliment, iggy! M🙂

If only this difficult instrument didn't have me hooked.

I love it. Very very good thanks

@@annferry4427 I'm delighted you found it helpful! Thank you. Mary💗

Lovely lesson from a lovely Scottish lassy! Thanks have you a lesson on vibrato? What material is your frog of? Beautiful tone and playing too!🙏🙏🙏

There's one thing that everyone should remind themselves of in life: never be dogmatic. Listen openly to the advices you receive and just test things out, give them a chance and do your best, but at the end of the day, do what feels right for you, I can't stress this enough, do what feels right for you because we are all different.

Thank you for this great reminder. Mary