Four Knotty Violin Studies: This is a group of difficult and single-minded studies, designed to address troubles that almost all of my advancing students encounter.

1. Towards the Liberation of Four from Three works on the independence of the third and fourth fingers. Please practice slowly at first and take breaks. This etude requires some endurance.

2. Towards Dependable Clarity is focused on clear and matched articulation in all parts of the bow on any string. The advice I keep repeating in lessons is: listen at the start of each stroke, listen during each stroke, and listen at the end of each stroke.

3. Etude "434," like the first of these studies, challenges the third and fourth fingers, but it presents its own set of problems

4. Augmented Challenge, almost all augmented arpeggiations and whole tone scales, this presents an ear training obstacle for many students.