Cellist Ralph Kirshbaum remembers the first time he heard a recording of his boyhood idol, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky. “I was literally rooted to my chair,” he says. “I’d never heard a sound like it—so rich, vibrant, and concentrated.”

These days, Kirshbaum is rooted to Piatigorsky through a slightly more metaphorical chair. Since 2008, he has held the Piatigorsky Endowed Chair in cello at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and is the artistic director…

Here's another excerpt from our upcoming 25th anniversary edition. It's one of 25 player tips culled from our extensive archives at AllThingsStrings.com:

Most contests are judged by professional musicians and have similar judging criteria: common categories include rhythm, clarity, level of difficulty, creativity, and intonation. Rhythm deals not only with making sure the contestant stays in time, but also with how much drive the performance has. Clarity deals with the how…

Mixing passion with practicality can be a confounding thing, as string teachers well know. Of course, violin teachers enjoy the professional delights of encouraging their students’ love of music and guiding them toward musical success, but most will admit that doing so with a full stomach and in comfortable surroundings remains a priority.

And so they must find a balance between their calling and their business, which elicits a number of difficult questions. How to gather enough…

Good practicing starts with good planning. And planning starts in the mind, but it need not stay there.

A written record of intentions and outcomes—of what succeeded and what didn’t—can be a precious source of insight and self-guidance.

Barry Green, author of the enduringly useful book The Inner Game of Music (Doubleday Press, $21.95), has developed a pocket-size Inner Game of Music Lesson Journal for his students. In one compact notebook, there are places…