Michael Grossman Violin Teacher, 112 Treanor St, San Rafael, CA 94901, US

HistoryWe employ a bel canto approach to learning an instrument. Bel canto means 'beautiful singing'--a smooth connection between notes, which ultimately leads to a beautiful sound and a facile, unforced technique. The greatest singers, for example, Renata Tebaldi, Enrico Caruso, among others, used this method. The greatest instrumentalists of the past also utilized this approach--Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Kreisler, Nathan Milstein, Vladimir Horowitz, Sergei Rachmaninoff, even (which may surprise some people) Glenn Gould, all played in this style. This approach is not only more satisfying musically, but is also physically and athletically correct, which allowed these performers to play without physical or mental antagonism, leading them to reach levels of expression and brilliance unequaled in our present day because this approach has been lost. We are bringing back this esoteric knowledge, which we have named the SFIM Method.SpecialtiesFounded in 2002, the San Francisco Institute of Music has a mission--to ensure that anyone can learn to play an instrument excellently and to demonstrate the powerful fact that: Talent can be explained. From the first moment of learning to play a musical instrument a student's brain forms neural connections and pathways, commonly referred to as