ViolinMind:

Unlock your true potential by learning the secrets of intonation in a book by two prominent string teachers.

By Hans Jørgen Jensen and Grigory Kalinovsky

Buy any two Ovation Press books and receive 20% off your order!
FREE SHIPPING anywhere in USA

For a limited time, each purchase of ViolinMind comes with a free bonus article bundle download. These articles will support and guide your journey through ViolinMind.

LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK →

Shopify.AddToCart

How this book will help you...

Have you ever doubted your intonation? Have you experienced the need to place pitches differently from one piece to another, or even from one measure to another? If so, you are not alone. Trying to decipher intonation is often frustrating and undermines the confidence of some of the most accomplished and talented musicians.

ViolinMind is a pedagogical method book that has been written to help musicians understand HOW intonation works and, more importantly, WHY it works the way it does. It is an adaptation of the acclaimed book CelloMind.

Instructions to receive free bonus article bundle:

  • Get your copy of ViolinMind
  • After completing your order check your email for the articles!

When you buy the book here you will automatically receive these free Bonuses:

Bonus Guide #1: The intonation principles compressed into a short guide including some important concepts not in ViolinMind such as: Using the two intonation systems at the same time - Playing out of tune but nobody noticing - Why checking with the open strings is bad - Simple rule for using melodic and just tuning, and the most important aspect for understanding intonation principle.

Bonus Guide #2: S.M.A.R.T goals, a great system for organizing your practice! The concepts behind this system have been applied here to instrumental music practice. Organizing your goals with this method will make the whole practicing process much more organized and will eventually lead to a much more focused and successful effort.

Bonus Guide #3: A poster that you can view on your phone/computer or print out on a regular size paper of a historic fingerboard with just tuning.

Violinist

BECOME A MASTER OF INTONATION

The mystery of intonation is revealed in this book by defining the scientific principles behind it, and providing easy, intuitive examples of each concept. Understanding intonation theories will improve your ability to play in tune and guide you to cultivate and sharpen your skills.

Reviews from Leading Violinists

"Huge congratulations to Hans Jensen and Grigory Kalinovsky for this most comprehensive resource book to learning about intonation! It’s a step by step, exercise by exercise, scientifically proven guide to the secrets of what it means to play “in tune”. What an invaluable guide this book is to performers and teachers!"

Ani Kavafian

Soloist, Chamber Musician, & Professor

"What a treasure of a book! A thorough look at intonation, hugely benefical for even those of us who think they play in tune! Jensen and Kalinovsky have succeeded in giving us a complete guide to "the Technique of Intonation". Lots of musical examples, exercises and technical charts will lead the reader/musician to the core of the mystery of intonation showing us the reason and principles behind them. Sensible, intelligent book, highly recommended!"

Jaakko Ilves

Violin Department, Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, Finland

“To play in tune is so difficult, it is, let´s be honest about it, quite impossible. But what is our duty is to learn to play at least right-direction-out-of-tune!” I never forget this advice I got from Shmuel Ashkenasi being a young student. These words made me THINK!As teaching intonation today to my students, I always instruct them to search for the reasons behind: why a particular note would sound better a bit higher or a bit lower. This knowledge combined with a sensitive ear and wise practicing will together lead towards better intonation.This book “Violin Mind” is the best opus I have seen so far about this subject. With it´s clear explanations and many advice how to dive deep into this important knowledge of intonation, it is a real practical guide. I recommend this book to every violinist!"

Päivyt Meller

Violin Faculty Sibelius Academy

"ViolinMind is an indispensable resource on the inner workings of intonation. The book presents the reader with thorough background on the subject, clear explanations and step-by-step exercises, something I have not seen in the form of a technique book until now. Working through it with students is enlightening and fun, opening the door to exciting revelations and discussions. Thank you!"

Judith Ingolfsson

Professor, Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University

Violinist

ALSO AVAILABLE IN EBOOK FORMAT

Apple Books
Google Play Books

About the Authors

Hans Jørgen Jensen
Professor of Cello, Northwestern University
Bienen School of Music

Hans Jørgen Jensen, Professor of Cello at Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the 2010 Artist Teacher Award from the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), the Presidential Scholars Program Teacher Recognition Award from the US Departmentof Education, and the Danish Music Critics Award in Copenhagen, one of Denmark’s most prestigious awards. Professor Jensen has performed and taught master classes across the United States, as well as in Canada, Australia, Brazil, Europe, Israel, Japan, and South Korea. Many of his students are first prize winners in numerous national and international competitions, as well as members of major US orchestras and leading music schools. Professor Jensen is also a faculty member of the Glenn Gould School in Toronto, Canada, and the Meadowmount School of Music in Westport, New York. Jensen has published the following books: Fun in Thumb Position, The Galamian Scale System for Cello: Volume I and Volume II, CelloMind, and ViolinMind, the latter two books published by Ovation Press. Jensen studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Denmark with cellist Asger Lund Christiansen and at the Juilliard School with Leonard Rose and Channing Robbins. 

Grigory Kalinovsky
Professor of Music (Violin) at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

Performed at some of the world’s major venues, from all three stages of Carnegie Hall in New York to Musikhalle Grosser Saal in Hamburg. He has taught at many music festivals, including Zukerman’s Young Artists Program, Heifetz Institute, Bowdoin, Summit Music Festival, Pavel Vernikov’s “Il Violino Magico”, Manhattan in the Mountains, and IU Summer String Academy. In just the last few years, he has given over a hundred masterclasses at major conservatories across the US, Europe, Asia, and in Israel. His students have won top prizes at major international competitions, including Menuhin Young Violinists Competition and Tibor Varga Junior Violin Competition. Recordings include a critically acclaimed Centaur disk with pianist Tatiana Goncharova featuring Shostakovich’s Violin Sonata and Twenty-Four Preludes and a recent Naxos release of the complete Weinberg Sonatas for Violin and Piano. Mr. Kalinovsky started his violin studies with Tatiana Liberova in his native St. Petersburg, Russia, and graduated from Pinchas Zukerman’s Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Mr. Zukerman and Patinka Kopec, later serving on the school’s faculty until his move to Indiana in 2013.

Minna Rose Chung – Co-Author of CelloMind
Professor of Cello, University of Manitoba Desautels Faculty of Music

Dr. Chung has an international career in all performance milieus (solo, chamber, and orchestral), has taught master classes across four continents, and is a frequent guest artist at music festivals worldwide. She has been reviewed as “a bright light, her intelligent musicality and rich resonance a wonderful addition to any ensemble” by the Winnipeg Free Press. Dr. Chung is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the University of Manitoba’s Rh Award for Outstanding Contributions to Scholarship and Research.Dr. Chung earned her degrees in cello performance at Oberlin Conservatory of Music (B.Mus.) with Norman Fischer and Peter Rejto, Northwestern University Bienen School of Music (M.Mus.) with Hans Jørgen Jensen, and SUNY Stony Brook University College of Arts and Sciences (D.M.A.) with Colin Carr.