Description
Roman Kim plays harmonics that, according to what we know about violin, shouldn’t be possible.
Check out the incredible videos on the MinutePhysics channel!
► https://www.youtube.com/@MinutePhysics
Roman Kim's official channel:
► https://www.youtube.com/@InsaneViolin
Filmed on location at the Shkolnikova Academy in 2025 (Sèvremont, France) where Roman Kim was faculty-artist. I will be joining the faculty this coming summer, so if you're looking for an awesome program in a magical French Chateau, join us August 03-13.
► https://www.shkolnikovaacademy.com/
Join my Patreon community for exclusive masterclass videos, frequent Zoom hang-outs/studio classes, and more!
► http://patreon.com/artiststechnique
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Introduction
01:07 - Roman’s Mission
02:44 - How the one-finger harmonic idea started
04:11 - How to find the Harmonics
05:18 - The Childhood rumor
06:36 - BEETHOVEN 5
07:06 - MinutePhysics Analysis of the Harmonics
08:09 - The fundamental??
10:59 - Stick-slip motion and double-slip regimes explained
13:23 - About Roman's Strings
15:27 - Manuscripts and Paganini lore, Roman's i Palpiti
16:34 - Can Roman teach me to do it??
In this conversation, we trace the origins of Roman's signature technique—not to a conservatory or a method book, but to a throwaway comment he heard at thirteen years old. Nobody knew how. The idea lodged itself somewhere in Roman's mind and stayed there.
Years later, working within his imagination, he found them himself. Only afterward did he discover a passage in a centuries-old treatise describing a similar phenomenon: harmonics “not physically explained.”
What emerges in our exchange is less a tutorial than a philosophy. Roman demonstrates the delicate variables—bow speed, contact point, the particular elasticity of his custom strings—and how small shifts can make the difference between a clean ringing overtone and nothing at all.
To ground the mystery without puncturing it, we're joined by my friend Henry from MinutePhysics, who helps map Roman's “impossible” sound onto the underlying physics of how a bowed string can be coaxed into unusually stable vibration patterns.
Ultimately we learn from Roman that the technique matters less than what it represents: proof that the instrument still holds secrets for those willing to search.
Produced, Directed, Edited by Daniel Kurganov
Filmed at the Shkolnikova Academy @ Château de la Flocellière
Production assistant: Gerard Gormezano
Want to learn how the pros perfect their craft?
📄 My 64 Practice Hacks PDF companion + many free Violin Technique PDFs
► https://payhip.com/violin
My Interview Series:
► https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjDCDd6U-QQ5IgnkwEPm710E5cqSm2Gsb
All Kurganov Masterclass Videos:
► https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjDCDd6U-QQ4EdoSU8Tjgso1lvH7ggVfl
🎻 My latest album, The Brahms Age
►https://haensslerprofil.lnk.to/HC22081
Support the channel with BTC:
► bc1qrvgwp4elx8p7jt4u22hshkfrqrphm3fr9c4djz
🎻 INQUIRIES ► d@kurganov.org
Kurganov-Finehouse Duo
🎭 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjDCDd6U-QQ4gS0zHaWAULx1jJDQ1M9U1
#violinpractice #RomanKim #minutephysics #violintechnique #violinlessons #violinteacher #Virtuoso #Paganini