How much can an adult amateur expect to develop as a musician in a short space of time? Quite a lot, it turns out, given the right attention and circumstances, as I found out last summer at Burton Kaplan's Magic Mountain This time last year I was cloistered away in the remote and beautiful surroundings of Magic Mountain, upstate New York. Under the tutelage of Burton Kaplan, and alongside students and professional violinists, I was learning how to practise the violin and how

Musical timing and closure, hearing and thinking for ourselves – just some of the things that teaching often fails to help us with, according to Burton Kaplan This summer I spent two weeks at the Magic Mountain Music Farm Practice Retreat, run by Burton Kaplan. My article about the experience is out now in the September issue of The Strad, and I've written a blog about the experience of being offered such a learning opportunity as an amateur. But in the two weeks of twice-dai

Two weeks at a violin practice retreat were life-changing for me, but left me wondering why there aren't enough places for amateur players to fulfil their musical aspirations For two weeks this summer I was taken seriously as a violin player. I was staying at the Magic Mountain Music Farm Practice Retreat in beautiful upstate New York, a course run by Burton Kaplan, and my article about my experience has just come out in the September issue of The Strad. By way of background,