Playing the Violin: An Illustrated Guide.

* Playing the Violin: An Illustrated Guide, by Mark Rush. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group (www.routledge.com; [phone]), 2006. $24.95.

I sometimes envy pianists--it looks so easy just to sit down, touch a key and have something recognizable come out at first try! Such is not the string player's lot.

Playing the Violin: An Illustrated Guide is a "Readers' Digest" mini-treatise on how to get properly set up on the violin, packed with some of the most concise, organized and easy to find information that I have yet to come across. The slim 97- page volume presents an easy writing style, mainstream technical approach, awareness of biomechanical and tension release issues, and a wealth of outstanding photos. All of these ensure that Mark Rush's book will be useful to a wide range of ages, playing levels and teaching circumstances.

It's very difficult to come up with short-hand language that covers a comprehensive subject, one that has been written about so thoroughly, but often leaves the reader with more questions than answers. The author has been very successful in this area. Rush clearly explains each aspect of the setup while offering latitude, and encourages teacher/student exploration to find what is best for the individual. The ensemble teacher whose primary instrument isn't the violin can find quick answers to almost any conceivable technical problem within the scope of this book in the first five chapters. The last three chapters, titled "More on Bowing," Vibrato" and "On Practicing," go into the more advanced aspects of violin technique. Private teachers will appreciate the short historical contexts given, and confirmation of the most widely accepted violin technique as passed down from such pedagogical luminaries as Ivan Galamian, Carl Flesch and Demetrius Dounis, and performer and teachers as Arthur Grumiaux and Nathan Milstein. Rush's concise explanations in large font and a wealth of pedagogically correct photos will make this a manual younger students can use as well. I, myself, had forgotten a few gems from the Dounis collection, and in two minutes was able to correct a technical problem for a college student whose second-language English was weak.

The only major disagreement I have with the author is over the chapter on vibrato. One of this book's greatest strengths is its clarity and conciseness. Therefore, it was with a little dismay that I thought the author was adding to the aura of mystery surrounding this musical colorant. Use of descriptors such as "ping" or "sizzle," and stating that "vibrato is one of those things we just 'get' one day," can be confusing and discouraging. Clarity, or perhaps modification of the statement that the pitch is not changing, might help the reader not feel caught in a paradox, as the rocking motion he describes will most certainly change the pitch during oscillation. Having said that, Rush's technical approach to learning the desired motion is standard (however the initiating motion can be taught exactly opposite from Rush's approach, as was taught that way by the famous 20th-century pedagogue Dorothy DeLay!). A fascinating way to further analyze vibrato for oneself can be done by studying videos at half speed. Computer programs also exist that allow one to slow down the speed of a vibrato without losing the pitch.

In spite of the differences in pedagogical approaches all teachers will have, I believe the vast majority of us would find very little with which to disagree. Playing the Violin does a remarkably good job of covering all the bases of standard violin setup in a quick reference style and I anticipate using this book with appreciation. Thumbs up!--Reviewed by Kathryn Lucktenberg, Eugene, Oregon

* This items can be ordered via the MTNA website through our affiliation with Amazon.com. Go to www.mtna.org for more information.