Video: How much can an instrument really improve a musician's performance?

Professional string musicians train their entire lives, often starting at the age of four or even younger, studying and practicing every day. They work hard to produce the sound they hear in their heads (and hearts) while trying to convey all this through their instrument. For some, not being able to learn or later exhibit what they have in their heads on the instrument is a source of self-doubt and frustration.

When we make the right match between the musician, instrument and bow, it is like the universe aligns. The musician just feels confident and “in control” of conveying their message through the instrument.

Every musician has little subtleties in their playing, and they expect the instrument to react.

Nurit Bar-Josef, concertmaster of the National Symphony Orchestra, describes her experience. “Every musician has little subtleties that they do in their playing, and they expect the instrument to react. As I was preparing for a concerto performance an our music director at the time was conducting, I just felt it was time to start looking for something that was on a different level.”

“After trying this Guadanini and realizing that I needed to have it, and realizing there was no way I could afford it, I was lucky enough to know someone who was interested in making an investment and willing to loan it to me.”

Regino Madrid, concertmaster of the American Pops Orchestra and associate concertmaster for the National Philharmonic, says, when he first tried his current instrument, an 1845 J.B. Vuillaume, “after just a few notes, I knew right away that it was a really special instrument that I connected with — immediately. Everything was much easier to play. I was able to express more easily the sounds that I heard in my head.”

My new instrument is capable of translating what I want to express. The joy of playing is always there.

Now, Madrid says, “when I play, I actually don’t have to work as hard as I did with my previous instrument. It made me realize that with my old instrument I had to work really hard to just make something happen. This new instrument just is capable of translating what I want to express.” With this new instrument, “the joy of playing always is there. It has improved my confidence, and anxiety is less when I perform.”

Supporting musicians with the tools of their craft is vital. Music enriches everyone’s lives and has a positive effect on every community.

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