Doublestop Magazine

Kim Kashkashian (viola) and Robert Levin (piano) were not intending to make it so in producing this collection of songs. Rather, they were attempting to translate song—even the singing voice, the words of music—into a collaboration for piano and viola. Their partnership, over the course of several years, writing, crafting and performing songs on Asturiana, has resulted in an effort where neither instrument takes center stage. And that is the magic in the music.

Doublestop Magazine talks with violinist Swil Kanim, the “Violindian.” Swil Kanim explores his career and Native American musical traditions: “There are hundreds of tribal nations in North America. Each with their own way of being. Each with their own songs to sing at their own special times. These are new times. Maybe, the time for a new song and a new way to sing is now and on the violin.”

Terez Rose goes in search of the violin in fiction, looking for authors who can capture the “soul of the violin—the intensity of the craft, its beauty and mystery, its relentless grip on those it favors.”

“I was the only freshman in the first violin section, something about which I felt great pride. Then, Mike challenged me. Mike was a senior in the second violin section, and apparently he wanted my seat. He issued the challenge, to be played out that coming Friday. We would each play behind a screen and thus anonymous, and the orchestra would vote on who would get the seat.”

“This was no big deal, she told herself, simply a casual audition for a summertime gig. But the bitter truth: she had a tenuous hold on her career’s success at the moment; she could almost feel it teetering, swaying with the breeze of public opinion.” Read more in this excerpt from Terez Rose’s novel Dirty Little Secrets.

Carl Loar covers the basics of home recording, including picking out the right microphone (hint: the one that came with your computer for free isn’t the right one!), placing the microphone properly for your instrument (paying special attention to stringed instruments), getting the sound into your computer, and editing it with software.

It all started innocently enough—a hunger to get more tactile feedback on intonation while practicing at home. Sure, there was the tuning fork getting me to A440 and then I used my ear to tuning the other open strings to fifths. But what about the B that I’d sharp one minutes and flat the next? And that incorrigible C? I was a lost soul. And then I saw the ad in the back of a magazine. Instant gratification at your fingertips, it promised. Comes by mail, wrapped in anonymous brown wrapping paper. How could I resist such a lure?

Sure, you know your music theory. You probably took a class, or picked up the basics along the way. But, how much do you know about why music is the way it is? In his engaging book, Daniel Levitin, a former musician, recording engineer, and producer turned professor, explains how the latest findings from the world of neuroscience and psychology map to music.

The best (and cheapest) way to learn about new music and new musicians is to explore the many strings-focused podcasts. You can hear tunes from many genres, including classical, bluegrass, folk, gospel, jazz, hip-hop and anything in-between. Read on to learn more about the best violin, viola, and cello podcasts.

Doublestop Magazine is a publication that sees the violin as the starting point for a literate exploration of the subject. This is a magazine that isn’t limited to a single genre of music, but can instead range from classical to bluegrass and all the points in between. I hope the articles we publish will inform, yet not be overly arcane. Above all, the magazine will reinforce the enthusiasm that string players have for their pastime.