"And a violin master? He must be a violinist, a thinker, a poet, a human being, he must have known hope, love, passion and despair, he must have run the gamut of the emotions in order to express them all in his playing. He must play his violin as Pan played his flute!" ~Eugène Ysaÿe

"Teaching the violin, like going into the ministry, or nursing, is not merely a job, or a profession, but a vocation. For, while a clergyman is responsible for the well-being of the soul, a nurse for the well-being of the body, a violin teacher should really be responsible for the free expression of both." ~Kato Havas

"Genius is an overused word. The world has known only about a half dozen geniuses. I got only fairly near." ~Fritz Kreisler

"My main principle in playing is all-embracing and straightforward: a striving for equilibrium. Perfect equilibrium is, of course, an unattainable ideal, a complex and infinitely multifaceted thing. None the less one can approach something like the right equilibrium when one realises that no part of the body moves without some corresponding reaction or compensation in some other part, in the same sense that not a leaf falls without altering the equilibrium of the earth. A sense of subtle shifts and balances is our goal. Subtlety knows no limit." ~Yehudi Menuhin

"The principle that I wish to put forward is that each part of the body moves best when it moves in harmony with other bones, muscles, limbs. To me violin playing is that procedure by which the body of the player becomes aware of itself and of its internal harmony. The principle is grasped not intellectually but through sensation, through becoming aware of the subtle checks and balances which, when properly understood, permit ease of technique." ~Yehudi Menuhin

"Once the student learns to feel his or her way around the violin then the way is open to move to ever more subtle planes. The progression resulting from the many parts of the body demanding recognition, that is to say inclusion, in the free flow of movement will become clear. For what is not included becomes an obstacle, a blockage to the free flow of movement which can only impede the musician. This progress to ever subtler sensation in performance is fed by a corresponding development of sensitivity in emotional response. The fruit of this is a better balance and communication between the musician and his instrument, the musician and his audience, the musician and his music." ~Yehudi Menuhin

"Better a good tone, even though a hundred mistakes be made in producing it, than a tone that is poor, thin and without quality.... To secure an absolute legato tone, a true singing tone on the violin, one should play scales with a perfectly well sustained and steady bow, in whole notes, slowly and mezzo-forte, taking care that each note is clear and pure, and that its volume does not vary during the stroke. The quality of tone must be equalized, and each whole note should be 'sung' with a single bowing. The change from up-bow to down-bow and vice versa should be made without a break, exclusively through skillful manipulation of the wrist. To accomplish this unbroken change of bow one should cultivate a loose wrist, and do special work at the extreme ends, nut and tip." ~Eddy Brown