Cory Abbott

Hello!  In the 34 years that I have played viola I have been fortunate to share stages with such musicians as Randy Newman, Ray Charles, Martin Chalifour, Zuill Bailey, Vadym Kholodenko, Twila Paris and Branson's Liverpool Legends.  My orchestral and chamber experience includes a wide range of styles and eras from Bach to Bollywood!  I am especially passionate about film scores and have a fondness for Christian worship music.

As a former public school strings teacher and a private viola and violin teacher of about 10 years, I have taught students ranging in age from 4 to 87 years old.  My students have performed in region and state orchestras, area youth orchestras, earned top honors in regional and state solo competitions, and gone on to major in music at the university level (or just enjoy jamming with buddies!)

I strongly believe in building good technique from the start; it is much easier to build good habits than it is to break bad ones.  These good habits must then be repeated through practice.  We often hear "Practice makes perfect."  This is NOT true!  Practice makes PERMANENT.  However you repeatedly do something becomes the way you do it, so it must be repeated with good technique; anything less builds bad habits.

I also believe in breaking things down to component parts, getting the parts right, and reassembling them.  It's no good trying to do too much too fast if it's not done well.

I believe knowledge of basic music theory is essential.  Understanding scales, key signatures, and other basic concepts of music theory help us understand the context and bigger picture of any pieces we play.

Lastly, one of the most important things to ask is "Why?"  Knowing the reasons and logic behind the physicality of playing technique leads to better implementation and even tailoring some aspects to suit your body type and developing playing style better.