"With Nicky" - Equipment

[@Skinny_Karlos]

It's very rare, or seems so, to find a down-to-earth, 'real' person behind all that talent and hard work that has got you to the top of the heap of violin soloists. Really enjoyed your video and was sad when it ended. I'll be looking out for your performances on KZbin. Keep on bowing, Nicki. From Mark in Australia.

[@christianlewisphotography6910]

For such a talented musician it’s great how you share your time and how you use your violin.

[@thatonespaniard6509]

It's an absolute pleasure to see that musicians show us their equipment and communicate with us.

[@harveybrown37]

All are born talented. Nicola is accomplished, which is talent plus hard work and intelligent, sensitive thought.

[@raybede]

I think Nikki must be one of the nicest self effacing and talented musicians on the current scene. She gives so much of herself to the music and to helping the young and upcoming musicians. She is a delight and each concert I have watched is a aural and soulful experience Thank you Nicola

[@paddlepower888]

Great wisdom and truth in the last minute: it often isn't the equipment--it's us. Thanks.

[@OneLoneMan]

I guess I'm luck the violin I have fits like a glove.

[@polw3785]

Apart from being an extraordinary violinist/musician you seem so balanced, wonderfully comfortable in your own skin and so generous in spirit. What a delight you are. Thanks Nicky

[@ChrisEbbrsen]

Your mighty generous wuth sharing all this, I feel extremely blessed and privalwdged for your sharing thank you.❤

[@jessejojojohnson]

That snickers bar in your case has given me all the confidence I need. Thank you!

[@garykuovideos]

It’s oddly reassuring to know that we’re all searching for the perfect setup, even superstar, other worldly players with jaw-dropping technique and tone.

[@oscarcarvalho6376]

You are the best for giving us all this!! Thanks!!

[@ChrisEbbrsen]

7 47 pm Aug.11,2023 HI Nicola, for some unexplained reason I brought out my VIOLIN under my trailer awning and did my best to play perpetual motion. A neighbor apparently heard me and indicated that he liked what I was doing. I practiced my a string vibrato a little and made some other noises and packed it in. Thank you for these beautiful videos I am ever greatful for your thorough instruction.c.e.in usa😅

[@ChrisEbbrsen]

You r😊early have made a large impression on me, if not for you my VIOLIN might well remain in its case, you have given me confidence! Thank you Nicola, blessed angel of the violin.c.e.usa

[@iamhandsome6058]

This is the best channel for all violinist. I love your videos..

[@DavidDellman]

The most honest and helpful video on this subject I have seen to date. Thank you so much. I loved it

[@opulentminimalist7595]

Thanks for bringing us into your musical world, and an intimate look inside your violin case. You are a hoot, and my favorite violin tutor. Your videos are wonderful. Thank you!🦋

[@mariolastepaniuk4957]

Very Helpful, thank you Nicola! 🙌💛

[@МиленМаринов-щ4ы]

A very cheerful ,life giving woman . A very good violinist too ! That's why I like her a lot !

[@leahhamdaoui7755]

what a well spent 16 minutes and 38 seconds ... and always fascinating to see what people have in their violin cases :-)

[@antonioromera8880]

Thank you for all your observations and advices. It’s so great learning from such a superb artist. Sharing your thoughts and experiences is a great present. Thank you very much!! 😊

[@ChrisEbbrsen]

Well you had me at Salute de Amore, I had wanted to play this just to satisfy you as my instructor, I waffles, had great difficulty disciplining myself to play it. Then I went on to play other things. Finally, month ago, you were playing Salute de Amore and it clicked, I was matching you on the first several bars and I was I heaven. I just copy chatted you and was pleasantly stunned. I am so greatful I mentally challenged myself to try and learn this song because I respect you and wanted to make you proud of me. I had some health problems recently and was not playing every day, as I had hoped. But your correct, learning the violin is not a linear progression. I apologize to you for not being consistent. I also have been pencil drawing and this is a great love of mine so I divide my time with art and violin.when get frustrated with one discipline I jump to the other to passing myself.. thank you for these precious videos Nicola! I'm so very greatful for you leaving them posted! . I learn so very slowly, there is no other way for me to learn violin, other than for me to copy cat everything you do. I have great difficulty understanding writer music. I remember being in the kitchen with the music stand my mother bought for me? And I soldered on with Go tell Aunt Rodey or what ever it was and the pressure from my mother was intense. I did not come from a musical background other than my dad played the harmonica and my mother had once played piano. It was my dad's dad that played ukele banjo, violin, and my two aunts who played piano but never bothered to encourage me on piano So my grandfather sent up a crated violin around 1970 approximatly.. I remember the beauty of its dark complexion and mystery. This was once my great grandfather's instrument and I now was it's custodian. Sorry to ramble on Nicola. I am at pleasant in an artwork phase, I hope to come back to the violin in a couple of weeks. I feel like I've let you down. I'm sorry. I have to have this time to create my drawings, I am both right hemisphere and left hemisphere, and right now I'm in an art phase. I will never forget the joy I felt when I copied you playing Salute De Amore! It was a wonderful feeling. Please excuse my wandering off for a while. Bye for now, yours very truly, c.e. usa sep. 19,2024 ❤

[@stephenneff5123]

Wonderful! Thank you for taking the time to share you experience and knowledge? For an adult learner like me, it is a special treat when a world class player, especially one of my favorites, shares their advice.

[@janisremiesiewicz3547]

I started playing at 55 years of age. My amazing instructor is younger than my eldest son. And to be amazingly blessed by KZbin/Facebook and social media, to be able to learn from the GREATS like Nicola? What a wonderful time we live in. Thank you Nicola, for your patience and professionalism!

[@TheOwenValentine]

Thank you 🙏🏽🙏🏽🦋🎻🎻🎻

[@garysimkins2179]

Dear Nicola, I have taken up the violin recently after having played the cello for some time. I started late on Cello, at 31, and have loved it. In high school music class when I was about 16, I was assigned the violin, but never took it serious enough having always wanted to play the cello. Now, I have embarked on this journey to try to play this wonderful instrument. What I find most engaging is that you are such a humble and down to earth person, and it really inspires me to really work. I have a great teacher and a lovely reproduction of the Abergavenny Strad, by Ernst Heinrich Roth, made in 1924. With regards to strings, I use the Larson Il Canone Soloist, and I absolutely love them, and thought perhaps you might find them a good try on your Strad. I have Eva Pirazi Golds on an 18th century Viennese instrument, but find that they loose their lustre in a couple of months. Having said all of that, I just want to thank you for all of your wonderful videos, and your amazing performances. With warm regards, from Gary in Canada.

[@neilkenny9005]

Not just a great musician but a brilliant teacher and someone to aspire to. Thank you for your interactivity!

[@rogberube6422]

Thanks for sharing your helpful hints, Nicola. :)

[@kellenbetty]

Thank you for being extraordinarily honest and sharing so many valuable experiences. Thank you again !

[@JE58-rbi]

Wonderful video, Nicky!

[@MatthiasLenardt]

Really good. Thank you!

[@Louise-zs9rl]

Excellent, thank you for posting Nicola.

[@hilaryhahnisthebest]

Really really good! Thanks

[@TheDaffygluk]

Very good advice thank you

[@intento3inflexible]

Thank you again Nicky! You are helping a lot of musicians include me!💖💖💖

[@carolineandtigger]

I like your shoulder rest. Very nice. Thank you for sharing.

[@abdellatifbajou8612]

merci nicky pour cette video is good

[@mapa6772]

Lovely, Nicky. Great video.

[@EudoraPrice]

Wonderful 🌹🌺🌷💐💐

[@authenticationstation2041]

Great video!

[@megabugginout]

Now I don’t feel weird…thanks for this🙏

[@kacsblanka]

You are wonderful !!!😍

[@subdrvr]

I confess this is my first viewing of you. I have known about you for some time but havent searched for more of you until now. You are adorable, one hot mess. I love your frankness and genuine personable character. I am going to watch for more of you. Well done you.

[@bcwilliams9242]

Very Cool!

[@Finarphin]

I play viola, and use a so-called viola valet: it's a harness that fits over the viola body and attaches to a counterweight. I've found it not only allows me to have the viola sit on my shoulder all by itself, but it takes away a lot of the tension that might otherwise be there in my neck and shoulders.

[@KikePinto]

Amazing! Not just a great musician but also an extraordinary human being! Bravo maestra!

[@danwingham9590]

Your awesome !!!

[@kallievandermerwe2574]

Nicky! I am a 73 year old guitar player (I hope - eventually!), but that last bit of advice blew me away. A million thanks for that! 😍

[@janiceallan2981]

So interesting. Thank you!

[@EudoraPrice]

Wonderful info ! Oh my So many Sponge was terrible for me!

[@rfhundley]

You are just amazing! Such a wonderful player, a good person interested in teaching and mentoring, and on these KZbin videos you are so open to sharing and being funny. Thank you!

[@TheJensenInterceptor]

Fabulous

[@bellasaward8330]

You would NOT want to drop that baby! Holy Mozart! 😍😍😍 🎻

[@brucejoseph8367]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and great knowledge on equipment. It's reasuring to know that you have similar experiences to us amateur players.

[@tullochgorum6323]

The other equipment issue to bear in mind is the setup of your fiddle - a poor setup can doom you to frustration. I'm a late adult starter, and got stuck with certain techniques. I was lucky enough to pick up a very good modern instrument and had just assumed the set up was OK. But it recently needed a small repair, and the luthier pointed out various aspects of the setup he thought he could improve. I gave him the green light, and the effect is dramatic. The tone is even better, and the playability is absolutely transformed - it's hard to overstate just how much easier it is to play. A mere few hours later I'm executing stuff with ease that I had almost given up on. So unless you are very confident that you setup is optimal, I STRONGLY recommend that you find an expert and have it assessed. In my case it didn't even cost much, and it's hugely enriched my playing experience - I'm having so much fun I can barely put my fiddle down.

[@philipgregorysougles1744]

Much appreciated!!

[@cathschofield674]

I’m not a violinist but I found that absolutely fascinating. The very good advice regarding obsessing about equipment holds true for all instruments of course.

[@ChrisEbbrsen]

How do you as a professional violinist modulate your bow hair tension? Is there any special traction device, sandpaper, rubberbands, or rings , filling or other involved with your frog.? Im sorry to pry and you may deem this information privet only to upper echelon elite such as yourself but I was curious. DO you have natural salt and pepper Mongolian horse hair in your bow or is it all one variety. Supposedly a mixture of dark and light hairs gives better traction so I ve learned from the internet. Thanks for any information. Your adoring fan Chris in Southern Oregon.usa December, 2023 5:37pm.😅😅😅

[@barriereid9244]

I recently bought a cello bow grip from The String Zone as my thumb was in torture. It now allows me to bow without having to focus on the pain arriving...and therefore shortening my practice. Yo Yo Mah uses same.

[@carmenrodriguezbruna5091]

Id love to give you one of my silk bags to protect your beautiful Strad!

[@mariapre-di6835]

Wonderful video! Thank you! "Equipment is important to take seriously but do not obsessed over it" It's true.

[@dayaneoliveira1122]

God bless you for this video!! I've been dying to know what shoulder rest you use, and everything else! 🙏🏼🙏🏼 Apart from the incredibly useful information, I also feel like I'd love to have a friend like you! 😊❤️

[@gailvcrawford2476]

THANKYOU 🤗

[@melissat9120]

Wow, it is so wonderful to hear your personal thoughts on setup! It was encouraging for me to hear all of this because I, too, used to obsess over setup. I even added the same bow grippy material at one point! And I also have a huge bag of old shoulder rests and sponges which I carved myself with an electric kitchen knife. 😂 But I totally believe in your conclusions. At some point, the focus needs to change. After time, I found that letting go and focusing on the music actually allowed my body to relax and play more naturally than if I was obsessing about an angle of something. Anyway, thank you so much for opening up and sharing your insights with us! ❤️💕

[@scottrichard5792]

Hi Melissa! Trust you’re doing well with your instruments after this insight. Would be glad to know about your flow😊

[@icemonkeyfist]

nicely done. You really gave some great insights into equipment without making it sound like voodoo or like rocket science. You explained it is "real people" terms in a way that cold be helpful whatever your field of endeavor. A great listen/view/lesson!

[@liamnevilleviolist1809]

Re-post in hope of a reply: Hi Nicola! Great video, I love these sorts of videos, the "insiders" featuring the artists/their instruments and accessories! I'm paused at 8:28 to try and see the bow clearly (I'm a bow collector and have made two) and I think I see elements of a Dodd family member or Peccatte, just in the style and proportions and angles of the frog and the large adjuster/screw ... am I anywhere close? I was just wondering if you can please tell us what it is. I see it's missing an eye on what we call the "audience side" (and as a little tidbit- the other side where you'd be looking at it /the side you put your thumb on, is aptly called the "player side"). If you wanted to expand and tell us how it plays, such as stiffness, whether or not it is loud, if (and why) it holds you back or the even the opposite, then that would be great information too :) X-TREME EDIT: I did *not* see the text saying that the bow was made by the legendary Fonclause! What a truly great bow you have in your possession. It's a shame that the tinsel/winding is covered up by tape, however it's completely excusable if it allows you to be a "better" violinist :) Very nice equipment you have! The Strad I guess is alright too ;)

[@mactcampbell]

Hello Nicky: Great channel and tutorials. If you are going to mention strings again, I was wondering if you could talk a bit on cleaning them. Also what happens after they are cleaned. It seems to me that the pitch goes up as the rosin accumulates.

[@masterchief586]

I use a Musafia case myself. Absolutely the very best case out there. 😊

[@lorendisney6573]

You are so sweet and lucky I have been playing for 2 years still trying

[@sgtcrab2569]

Isn't Nicky the most fun person! Great vid. I scrape at Cape Breton Traditional playing and settled on Obbligato which everyone else hates!

[@lesstime1678]

very smart girl , nice video ,thanks girl

[@mikhael4]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge :')

[@davidluiz4732]

Obrigado, por compartilhar conosco ... Algumas particularidades !!!

[@JacquesLuu]

Love hearing Nicola Benedetti talking about her strings ;p

[@MartinPodholaMlok]

Great video thanks! My biggest trouble was (I hope it is over) with chinrests, I have a "small" collection of chinrests. I have a really short neck, and every chinrest I tried was digging into my jaw bone with the sharp edge of the hump on the side. I was trying to manage it. My wife has on her violin one really flat and small, almost on the wood of the instrument, and this one is amazing! But I was unable to find thing like this for months. At last, I found a flat but bigger one in one shop from abroad. I ordered another one, and it is working for me now, perfectly, I hope I will stay with it, it is beautiful handmade ebony one :)

[@makddoonnaa]

I think one of the possible solution is trying a taller chin rest

[@NicolaBenedettiOfficial]

Martin Podhola Experimenting with the heights of chin and shoulder rests is always a good idea to find what is most comfortable for you.

[@MartinPodholaMlok]

@@NicolaBenedettiOfficial Yes and also a great challenge to do :) and Your feeling is also changing with the time ... so many things

[@checkmate545]

The most relaxed and down to earth musician in the world. It's very refreshing, to finally come across a star like Nicola, who is not selling her body (like most do) or flaunt it for financial gain or likes. I can't wait for the day when you team up with Jacob Collier for a 'ho down' track 💖

[@mikeciaudzul1923]

I love this video tu Nicky

[@resharpsharpening3024]

Yes shoulder rest ! Been using a Bonmusica for a while now. It’s the best one I’ve used so far. Your Libero seems impossible to find. Thanks for doing these videos

[@orlamuc]

you can find it on amazon!

[@twokool4skool129]

She plays with a Strad? Talk about a humble flex.

[@aragorn4242]

amazing view of a superstar musician being a normal person !

[@basiaszendrei1603]

Greetings and fit like from Aberdeen :)

[@andreshm87]

'... it's really squishy!' *puts it back in the case* That really made me laugh :) Thanks for all the videos you've made. I've watched several and apart from being truly inspirational, you've really helped me to understand and develop my sound. Really, thank you!

[@agusc.2992]

Hi, Nicky! Thank you so much for these videos, they have been very useful and practical for my study. I was wondering if you could make another one on how to play chords on the violin, I'm working on it right now and it's so frustating, I'm not sure I'm doing it right, my bow keeps bouncing on the string :(

[@NicolaBenedettiOfficial]

Agustina Oh yes, chords is definitely on the list of films we’ll be sharing at some point!

[@newme6172]

Where to buy the little collarbone protection pad? (Not the shoulder rest, but the piece of cloth cover collarbone showed at 7:20)

[@KolerikRocks]

Nicky, Have you ever tried out playing a CODA Bow before and if your have what are your thoughts?

[@SofiaViviEnDo]

I also have a bunch of shoulder rests. To my student currently, specially with kids and small, short ladies, I am using sponges, because I can cut them to their sizes. But it's been a struggle ever since... It's like most SR are perfect for tall, wide shoulders men, but terrible for narrow shoulders, short necks, kids and women. A headache.

[@istvannagycsomor230]

Can you tell what kind of chin rest do you use? Many thanks!

[@janisremiesiewicz3547]

It’s appalling to me that 17 people dislike any video you make Nicola!! But there are stupids all over the world. LOL! You are beautiful, talented and very highly blessed!

[@jogz123]

What audio system is in that room?

[@koeutthom9563]

I saw you at Headway 4th elementary. So i try to search about you to tell my English students.

[@lorengigi3564]

Ms. Benedetti, your videos really inspire me to be more devoted to practicing the violin and push my standards high. Before a performance, is there a time when you get worried about technique? At home I do many exercises from my fingers to get strong, and I was taught that confident technique really comes after hours of time practicing. I was wondering if there is a chance of still feeling uneasy about technique in a performance after practicing them the right way. Thank you very much.

[@MaguitaAguilar]

💕💕💕💕💕

[@peterlhawks]

Has anyone tried the Gamut Academie Pure, Naked Gut Strings? If so, how was your experience? Also, what type of range and selections did you add on to the strings?

[@waverly2468]

I didn't know there were so many brands of strings. I studied violin in college and then I gave it up for 30 years. When I picked it up again I couldn't believe how much the price of strings went up so I'm using steel strings purchased from Amazon ($20 for four strings). The good news is steel strings sound a lot better than they did 30 years ago. (watch my video "Orville theme played on violin") And thanks for all of the great practice tips.

[@sarahsilvere]

Loved this video!!! Thank you for sharing and giving this wonderful message about being humble about what equipment is at the end of the day 🥰 ps: where is your lovely bracelet from?

[@DivaDeb1234]

I can't get comfortable . The better I get, the more tension !!!

[@FodorPupil]

Great video! Still using Evah's?

[@Oliver-e6e]

@Nicola Benedetti Is it possible to buy the chin rest pad thing?

[@Bill-uo6cm]

Why is this so interesting?

[@PaulHuppert]

Nicely done, your lovely playing is matched by your equally lovely personality! Great advice regarding making thoughtful and not erratic spur of the moment decision making. Do you have any thoughts regarding bow weight?

[@c0mpuipf]

really need to try me that bow support i always get bow gunk under my thumbs' finger nail

[@elmundodelamusicaescolar3834]

Muy Bueno tu vídeo , que cuerdas me aconsejarías para un violan Profesional que marca para cada cuerdas y por que te lo agradecería un montón desde Antofagasta Chile

[@ps7880]

Great video, truly enjoy watching it! I’m thinking of getting a Pirastro Korfker rest, and you have it in your shoulder rest collections. I was wondering what prevents you from using it? Thanks.

[@dis_organ_ized]

How often should I change my strings on my violin?