Sloman, Jan - Notes to a Violinist: A Developmental Guide for Violinists & Teachers

Notes to a Violinist

Featuring an introduction by acclaimed violinist Jaime Laredo, Notes to a Violinist by Jan Mark Sloman is a comprehensive pedagogical guide that combines philosophical insight with practical instruction for violinists and string players at all stages. Drawing on decades of teaching and professional performance, Sloman addresses the technical, artistic, and psychological dimensions of musical development, including motivation, instinct, anxiety, and the responsibilities of both teacher and student.

The book provides detailed guidance on fundamental techniques, scales, arpeggios, posture, and coordination, while emphasizing the cultivation of individual artistry. Central to the book is Sloman’s Etude Sequence, published here for the first time, which identifies forty-two essential etudes selected from a broad repertoire and organizes them into a structured framework designed to build technical solidity, concentration, and artistic endurance.

Notes to a Violinist concludes with a clear approach to repertoire progression, outlining how students can balance concurrent study of scales, etudes, and solo repertoire, making the book both a practical manual and a lasting record of a highly lauded teaching philosophy in modern violin pedagogy.

Jan Mark Sloman

Sloman was a University Scholar at Princeton University and a student of the legendary Ivan Galamian at the Curtis Institute of Music. He served for thirty-eight years as Principal Associate Concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and collaborated in chamber music with artists including Leonard Rose, Nobuko Imai, and Yo-Yo Ma. His work with internationally renowned conductors, among them Carlos Kleiber, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, and Riccardo Chailly, cemented his reputation as both a performer and a musician of exceptional depth.

As a teacher, Sloman gained national recognition through the success of his students, many of whom went on to win international competitions, study at leading conservatories, perform in major orchestras, and teach the next generation of violinists.