Daily Virtuoso
Practicing shouldn’t feel like a constant battle with your own limitations.
Experience the revolutionary membership experience that helps you take control of your progress — while learning the greatest pieces in the repertoire (no more waiting!)
I’m Nathan Cole,
and I want to make you a Daily Virtuoso…
“Before, I’d spend hours practicing but it wasn’t targeted enough to see the kind of improvements that I needed. Nathan helped me focus on the skills I needed to improve the most. He has a special ability to pinpoint and distill the most essential information incredibly clearly.”
The absolute key to daily progress
is realizing you’re ready now
I don’t need to tell you that everything in your life will transform the moment you…
- Truly fall in love with your daily practice
- Blow your own mind with your technical ability
- Play the great music written for the violin, and actually like how you sound
But what you might not realize is this:
Getting there isn’t about waiting until you feel worthy while shutting yourself off from the very music that made you pick up the violin in the first place.
It’s about using Bach, Kreisler, Mendelssohn, Wieniawski, and all the rest to become a better player. To face AND CHANGE your inner dialogue about who you are as an artist.
Count me in!
Over the last 20+ years, I’ve inspired tens of thousands of violinists through my online courses and YouTube videos.
I’ve also spent decades teaching privately and doing audition coaching.
As serious violinists, we hold ourselves to impossibly high standards. You may have heard the phrase, “stop comparing your ‘behind-the-scenes’ to someone else’s ‘highlight reel.’” That about sums it up for us, doesn’t it?
When you expect your daily work to sound like the (often edited) performance of an established star, you set yourself up for failure on a daily basis. You come to expect it.
And lower expectations mean smaller dreams. Those magnificent cornerstones of the violin repertoire seem to float further and further away.
You keep practicing but your morale decays as time passes. After another month, or another year, you’re not any closer to enjoying the pieces that made you fall in love with the violin in the first place.
And your daily practice becomes a constant uphill battle with little reward.
Does any of this sound familar?
If these thoughts have haunted you in the past – you’re not alone.
And here’s some good news: in the Daily Virtuoso, you’ll be writing a new narrative about yourself as an artist — in addition to solidifying the technical foundation that has always eluded you.
Here’s what you can look forward to:
- Colleagues and friends who will stand alongside you for years to come, sharing in your violin victories and the inevitable challenges. Feeling alone? Not anymore.
- As you separate practice from self-worth, you’ll be free to find better solutions with less work. Instead of focusing on how you’re failing, you’ll start seeing results.
- I’ll guide you with practice planning. You’ll have the focus and clarity to get the most out of whatever practice time you do have.
- My modular approach means you can go at your own pace, meeting your current abilities and stretching in an appropriate way.
All in all, the Daily Virtuoso will teach you how to make daily progress in the practice room the norm — so that improvement is undeniable!
Ready to start?
Retired laser research scientist
In the Daily Virtuoso, we do things differently…
We use the greatest repertoire as the vehicle for building your technical foundation — it’s functional fitness, on the violin.
No more choosing between technique and great music.
Here, you’ll improve your foundations as you learn the music you love.
And even better?
You’ll see surprise improvements popping up in your playing all over the place: your very next gig, rehearsal, lesson…even the big auditions and performances.
It’s impossible to predict how all of that growth will impact you.
You might feel ready and inspired to…
- Schedule that solo recital
- Make a recording of your playing
- Audition for a bigger orchestra
And if you’re a teacher, you’ll discover you have new tools (and a growing excitement about your playing) to share with your students — to help them step onto a faster highway of violin progress.
Here’s Katie — a professional orchestral player — who rediscovered her desire to learn new repertoire through our work together:
Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Pricing options
Monthly: most flexible
$275 per month
cancel anytime
✓ New masterworks each quarter
✓ Virtuoso Vault fundamentals
✓ Weekly practice plans & videos
✓ Nathan’s marked parts
✓ Montlhy live workouts
✓ Monthly live hot seat sessions
✓ Quarterly special guest
✓ Practice Squads
✓ Discord community
Annual: best value
$3000 per year
✓ Everything in Monthly, PLUS:
✓ Priority for hot-seat spots
✓ Special topic classes (This quarter featuring a peek inside my practice room!)
✓ Open repertoire masterclass
✓ Access to all previous annual member bonus classes (including Body Mapping with Jennifer Johnson, my Concertmaster Mindset class, my Sight Reading Masterclass, and more!)
✓ 14-day refund period
I’m Nathan Cole, your violin guide
I’m Concertmaster of the Boston Symphony. After a degree from the Curtis Institute, I joined the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Now in my third decade with major orchestras, I’ve also been helping violinists online for 15 years, leading thousands of players through such events as the Violympics, Bach on the Road, the Spring Audition Intensive, and the Summer Bach Retreat.
It’s always bothered me to see players struggling to get through a door that could easily be unlocked with the right key. And as I’ve been blessed with knowledgeable, patient teachers who have given me the right keys over the years, I’ve always wanted to pass them on to others. Since 2001 — when natesviolin.com went live — I’ve been able to do just that, working with violinists I’ve never met in person!
For the last few years, my high-level Virtuoso Master Course has been the laboratory in which I’ve tested strategies and solutions with my most dedicated students. Summer programs, like the Violympics, have demonstrated the power of community paired with repertoire-based challenges. That’s why the Daily Virtuoso is the natural evolution of my teaching, bringing together the best of the VMC and the summer: year-round mentorship as part of a worldwide studio of dedicated violinists.
And as much fulfillment as I get from helping you, I’m taking the Daily Virtuoso journey for myself! By making a multi-year commitment to my growth as an artist, I’ll be in the best position to share only the best and most proven wisdom with you.
Senior Lecturer at University of Kentucky, Assistant Concertmaster of the Lexington Philharmonic
Here’s what you get in Daily Virtuoso:
Core curriculum
Weekly Video Assignments: $10,000 value
Nathan takes you through each piece over a 12-week period. There’s a rhythm and arc to the learning experience, from learning the first notes of the piece to bringing the piece to performance. You can watch and re-watch anytime you want to revisit the repertoire, as long as you’re a current DV member. We now have twelve major pieces in the library, with three additional works added each quarter.
Practice Plans: $4,000 value
Detailed plans linking important concepts and tools to the content in Nathan’s weekly videos. No spinning your wheels for how to approach your practice time. You’ll have the distilled insights and strategies in front of you so that you can easily create your daily practice plan. Downloadable and electronic versions available.
Virtuoso Vault: $25,000 value
An ever-growing collection of videos on topics ranging from the smallest building blocks (vibrato, thirds, hand frame) to the practice strategies that will get you unstuck… The Vault will truly revolutionize the way you practice AND perform.
Nathan’s marked parts: $1,000 value
Not only are you getting Nathan’s fingerings and bowings (saving you time, effort, and the agony of having to change your mind later), you’re getting a glimpse into his thought process. Accelerate your progress, trusting that these major decisions have already been made by someone with vast experience who has already tested out all the possibilities, picking the best ones.
Live sessions
Workouts: $12,000 value
Over the course of the year, you’ll get to experience 12 technique-focused sessions with Nathan where he leads you through a one-hour technique-focused class. Like all DV material, you can revisit these whenever you need a reminder about how to structure your time, bounce your bow, practice fast passagework, or any number of other topics.
Hot Seat Studio Classes: $12,000 value
90-minute monthly sessions in which Nathan answers your burning questions: Why doesn’t this fingering work for me? How can I practice to get a good spiccato? What makes my vibrato sound “off?”
This is YOUR time to connect 1:1 with Nathan, and since he doesn’t teach privately anymore, it’s an exclusive opportunity.
Practice Squads: $6,000 value
Four practice squad meetings each month, led by some of Nathan’s long-standing students who have a deep knowledge of his methods, along with their own decades of experience. These sessions are great opportunities to connect with your colleagues, get real-time practice support and accountability, and be motivated by the progress of your peers. Come to get your questions answered and stay for the amazing community and conversations. Plus, Nathan is known to make surprise visits to practice squads where he will also provide insights and real-time coaching.
Guest Artist Sessions: $4,000 value
Every quarter, join a conversation between Nathan and one of the living legends of the violin. These sessions are focused on the repertoire of the quarter, so you’ll get to see your violin idols demonstrate the music you’re working on, and gain insights into their approach. You can submit questions in advance and participate in real-time. Previous guests include Augustin Hadelich, Simon Fischer, Ida Kavafian, and Kerson Leong.
Community
Discord Community: $1,000 value
Connect with your violin and viola colleagues throughout the week to share progress updates, questions, and wins. It’s a friendly community of supportive musicians who are all on the path of growth.
Annual member bonuses: $5,000 value
These perks are reserved for our annual members:
Special Topic Tracks
Each quarter Nathan brings in a guest expert to teach a handful of sessions on specialty topics that are relevant either to the repertoire or to the general interests and goals of the Daily Virtuoso community.
For October-December 2024, Daily Virtuoso will feature two special topic tracks:
Harmonic analysis with Joseph Sowa
Learn the ins and outs of Bach, Mozart, and Ravel, so that you can make this music your own.
Historical Performance with Laura Corolla
Develop your own, historically-informed approach to Bach with the help of a dedicated baroque-violin performer.
Plus, don’t miss these Annual Member perks later in 2024:
Open Repertoire Masterclass
While Daily Virtuoso live sessions (including masterclass opportunities) are closely focused on the quarterly repertoire, Nathan will teach an additional masterclass focused on any repertoire you like! Only annual members will be invited to apply for these select spots.
Sight Reading Masterclass
Want to fast-track your ability to access new pieces? Nathan’s never-before-taught sight reading masterclass will reveal his secrets for reading and absorbing new music quickly.
FAQs
For many years, Nathan has had a passion for helping as many people as possible around the world to solve their violin challenges and reach new levels of coordination, facility, and ease on the instrument.
Nathan has taught for decades in a variety of formats – both virtual and in person – and has been longing to spend more time focused on the repertoire he loves most, while using that great music to help students open all kinds of new possibilities in their playing.
As Nathan’s children have gotten older, he’s been looking for ways to share his teaching in the most impactful way while still having the time to devote to his family.
Hence, Daily Virtuoso! It’s designed to let you focus on what matters most in your violin life.
While learners of all levels are welcome, Daily Virtuoso is designed for intermediate, advanced and professional-level players who already have a commitment to daily practice. Daily Virtuoso focuses on great works from the violin repertoire that require a familiarity with all standard (and some more specialized) techniques on the violin, and is most useful to players who are comfortable with all core elements of violin or viola technique.
Throughout the assignments, Nathan will offer suggestions on how to scale down the workflow so that you can meet the program where you are. You can choose to focus only on certain elements of each quarter’s curriculum, or you can opt to do the most you can with all of the ideas presented. You get to keep the lessons and videos for as long as you maintain your Daily Virtuoso membership, so you can come back to the pieces again and again – you might surprise yourself with how quickly you’re able to improve!
While learning online is not for everyone, many students have relied on online learning as their primary source of instruction. The majority of Nathan’s teaching over the last 10+ years has been online.
If you are uncomfortable with Zoom, navigating the internet, or researching and implementing solutions to your tech challenges, or if you know that the best way for you to learn is by having a teacher standing in the same room with you, then Daily Virtuoso is probably not for you.
Daily Virtuoso runs on an ongoing basis, with quarterly repertoire arcs. The kickoff date for the next quarter is March 31, 2025.
Daily Virtuoso is an entirely online experience. The course material includes pre-recorded videos and PDF downloads that are accessible through the natesviolin.com website. There are also live sessions that take place on Zoom and a community forum on Discord.
If you’ve taken any online course before, most likely you have everything you need already.
If you are new to the online format, here’s what you will need:
A strong internet connection;
familiarity with using the internet (accessing a web browser, checking email, logging into websites with a username and password); basic familiarity with Zoom (joining a meeting and connecting your computer audio); the ability to Google things – looking up solutions to your tech challenges first before asking for help.
If that level of technology usage feels out of reach for you, then Daily Virtuoso may not be the right fit.
Each quarter’s meeting schedule is decided in advance and published on the Daily Virtuoso course page, as well as in the participant handbook.
Live calls are scheduled according to Nathan’s availability, but we do try to vary the days and times to accommodate a variety of time zones.
As long as you are a member of Daily Virtuoso, you have access to new and archived course materials, replay recordings of Practice Squads and live sessions, and everything in our growing Virtuoso Vault.
We encourage you to approach the repertoire with an open mind, or “growth mindset.” The tools and techniques presented each week can translate to any music you might want to learn. You might even find yourself enjoying the work after giving it a try for a few months.
Will you be going over audition strategies?
The Daily Virtuoso is not focused on audition repertoire. Nathan, being an auditioning orchestral leader himself, may bring in some concepts from his experience on both sides of the audition screen, but the musical selections will come from the masterworks of the solo violin literature.
That said, you can apply Nathan’s approach to any music you’d like to learn, be it chamber music, audition repertoire, or that folder of orchestral music you need to have ready for rehearsal next week!
The primary purpose of Practice Squads is to build community. This is a designated time to come together and connect about your Daily Virtuoso experience in a facilitated small group setting. The Practice Squad coaches are all alumni of the VMC program who have worked closely with Nathan for many years and are very familiar with his teaching style.
We currently have four practice squad coaches, and each coach’s squad meets once a month.
You are welcome to attend as many of the different coaching squads as you would like to!
The Practice Squad coaches are all professional musicians who have studied extensively with Nathan and have a deep understanding of his approach, as well as their own decades of experience.
As an added bonus, Nathan drops in on at least one practice squad a month! These surprise visits are opportunities for you to connect and work with Nathan in a more intimate setting.
Practice Squads, like all Daily Virtuoso content, are recorded.
We all get behind from time to time, so you’ll be in good company. We recommend that when you fall behind, you simply pick up wherever you are and keep going. You have access to the lessons and videos for as long as you maintain your Daily Virtuoso membership, so anything you missed this time around, you can pick up the next time!
Nathan’s rule of thumb here: if the workload is too intense, reduce it. You can choose to work on less repertoire now and come back to this quarter’s materials when you have more time.
Even if you’re right in step with the pace of Nathan’s curriculum, you’ll likely gain more and more insights the more you return to the repertoire.
Most Daily Virtuosi (including Nathan!) have very busy professional and personal lives, yet they share a dedication to making time for the violin in whatever way fits their schedule. While we love seeing participants join the live sessions, everything is recorded and organized to fit around any schedule.
Each week, Nathan releases approximately one hour of video content on the current quarter’s repertoire.
There are two live calls with Nathan each month: a workout session digging into various techniques and topics relevant to the curriculum, and a Hot Seat Studio Class, in which participants get to ask for feedback from Nathan.
Nathan also recommends spending one hour a day practicing for every piece you choose to work on if your goal is to fully learn the piece from scratch.
It’s an entirely personal decision as far as how much to take on. Whether it’s all three pieces from front to back or a few phrases from one particular bucketlist piece, the key to Daily Virtuoso is the “daily” aspect – finding some version of consistency that makes sense for your life.
Not to worry, everything is recorded!
Nathan does not teach privately. The only way to work with Nathan currently is through the Daily Virtuoso.
The cost for annual members is $3,000.
The cost for monthly members is $275/month. You can cancel anytime on the monthly plan.
Considering that a year of weekly private lessons with an experienced teacher in the US would cost at least $5,000, Daily Virtuoso offers an enormous amount of value for the cost. Not only do you get many more hours of instruction (via pre-recorded videos) than you would get in private lessons, ranging from in-depth repertoire lessons to a wide range of technical and mindset fundamentals, Daily Virtuoso offers robust community features that will keep you motivated and inspired.
If what you need in order to get better career performances is greater stability, reliability, and confidence in your playing, then this program will deliver on that – as long as you put in the consistent effort.
Daily Virtuoso will provide you with exposure to all the tools and techniques you need to succeed as a violinist, as well as the mindset to incorporate them in a lasting way. However, the Daily Virtuoso can not practice for you! You’ll need to engage with the content in a meaningful way to reap its rewards.
Annual members can request a refund within the first 14 days of each yearly billing cycle. Monthly members are not eligible for refunds upon cancellation.
Should you decide that the Daily Virtuoso is not for you, you may cancel your membership at any time through the Account Page in the course website. Simply click “My Account,” then select “Subscriptions.” That’s where you can deactivate your subscription.
Please note, once you have canceled your subscription, you lose access to all course materials.
Daily Virtuoso is open for enrollment every quarter. If you can’t join us this time, we hope to see you in the future!
We are not currently offering scholarships for Daily Virtuoso, but the program is open for enrollment every quarter. Should your budget change, we hope you’ll join us then!
…that by joining the Daily Virtuoso, you are entering the greatest online violin community that exists?
My programs are known for their exceptional communities that are all about friendship, collaboration, and mutual support. You’ll be inspired by having so many colleagues who are dedicated to getting better at the violin — and having fun while doing it!
My current Daily Virtuoso members are already having great results:
Let’s get going!
Violinist and teacher
3 ways to join:
Monthly: most flexible
$275 per month
cancel anytime
✓ New masterworks each quarter
✓ Virtuoso Vault fundamentals
✓ Weekly practice plans & videos
✓ Nathan’s marked parts
✓ Montlhy live workouts
✓ Monthly live hot seat sessions
✓ Quarterly special guest
✓ Practice Squads
✓ Discord community
Annual: best value
$3000 per year
✓ Everything in Monthly, PLUS:
✓ Priority for hot-seat spots
✓ Special topic classes (This quarter featuring a peek inside my practice room!)
✓ Open repertoire masterclass
✓ Access to all previous annual member bonus classes (including Body Mapping with Jennifer Johnson, my Concertmaster Mindset class, my Sight Reading Masterclass, and more!)
✓ 14-day refund period
New to learning violin online?
You’ll be amazed at how effective it can be.
There’s a reason I started making video tutorials in the early days of YouTube. It’s because I wanted violinists everywhere to have access to the best information to solve their problems.
Every time I’ve found a solution to my own technical challenges, I’ve been eager to share it. Why should you have to struggle when there’s an easier way?
My students are spread around the world, are all ages, and come from all backgrounds and walks of life. Even seasoned pros have solved their stickiest technical challenges through my video tutorials:
Are you ready to become a Daily Virtuoso?
Imagine that it’s a year from now.
Take a moment to reflect on how far you’ve come in a year… You realize that now:
- You’ve added several new pieces to your repertoire — and are EAGER to play them for others (and for yourself)…
- You no longer dread a page of passage work, lots of shifts, inconvenient bowings, and awkward double-stops. Now, you have a plan…
- You need less time to prepare for rehearsals and concerts because your technique shows up for you in a way it never has before…
- You’re setting your sights on music and playing opportunities that you NEVER would have dreamed of before…
- You’ve already taken auditions and playing opportunities in the last 12 months that you previously would have avoided at all costs…
- You’re embarking on musical collaborations that excite you (perhaps even with some of your Daily Virtuoso friends)…
- Your students are thriving and progressing faster than ever before…and they can tell that you have a new sparkle in your eye when you talk about the violin…
…And more. The possibilities are endless when you allow yourself to become the musician you’ve always wanted to be, by claiming the music you’ve always loved as yours.
So why wait another year to change your violin life?
Get started today:
Monthly: most flexible
$275 per month
cancel anytime
✓ New masterworks each quarter
✓ Virtuoso Vault fundamentals
✓ Weekly practice plans & videos
✓ Nathan’s marked parts
✓ Montlhy live workouts
✓ Monthly live hot seat sessions
✓ Quarterly special guest
✓ Practice Squads
✓ Discord community
Annual: best value
$3000 per year
✓ Everything in Monthly, PLUS:
✓ Priority for hot-seat spots
✓ Special topic classes (This quarter featuring a peek inside my practice room!)
✓ Open repertoire masterclass
✓ Access to all previous annual member bonus classes (including Body Mapping with Jennifer Johnson, my Concertmaster Mindset class, my Sight Reading Masterclass, and more!)
✓ 14-day refund period
If you discover that The Daily Virtuoso is not for you, no worries. Annual members have 14 days from your initial payment date to cancel your membership and receive a refund, no questions asked. In subsequent years, you’ll have this same 14-day window to change your mind at the start of each annual billing cycle. If you’re paying monthly, you can cancel anytime.
Settle or reach higher?
Whether you’re a professional musician or a dedicated hobbyist, if you’ve made it down this far, I know that you’ve devoted years or decades of your life to the violin.
It’s so easy to convince ourselves to settle for where we are now. What if we set our sights higher, on something we *really* want, and end up feeling disappointed and embarrassed?
I’ve been there, believe me. I know how easy it is to lose sight of the great parts of playing the violin. Whether you…
Are exhausted teaching 30 hours a week
Rely on freelance work and feel like you can never say no to a gig
Feel your stomach turn as you walk into an orchestra rehearsal and see your grouchy colleagues (who don’t seem to bother with practicing anymore)
Are tired of friends and family asking, “Oh, are you still doing the violin thing?”
So many forces — especially in the professional music world, let me tell you — can drag us down, tempt us to phone it in, and make us question our life choices. But together we can create a different experience, centered on our shared love for and commitment to playing our favorite instrument — the violin!
You’ve already done the hardest part, which is just getting started. And you’ve stuck with it and made it this far!
What if this chapter of your violin life is still just the beginning of what is possible for you?
What would happen if you believed that some of your greatest violin moments lie ahead of you, and all you had to do was start relating to your daily practice rhythm a little differently?
If you’re ready to find out, I hope you’ll join me in the Daily Virtuoso.
