"I have revolutionized and vastly improved my own playing and teaching apres age 50 with what I have found out Dounis’ teaching . Byron has mastered this rare and astounding information about string playing, and may now be the greatest living resource for it. The material is comprehensive, dealing with not only physical efficiency , but also the instinctive, expressive, and interpretive aspects. It turns out there are no separate boundaries for all these elements , which is why Dounis said he taught ‘expressive technique’."

My online lessons have done nothing but unearth the true secrets of string playing in full light. Every lesson leaves me inspired by both the playing of Byron Duckwall and the possibility of attaining this sort of high level playing myself. After playing any passage Mr. Duckwall accurately diagnoses the problems and provides 'cures' for each. All it takes is practice with the right information!

Re: The Easy Virtuoso Series

Studying the Dounis Method has unveiled the pathway to the playing of Heifetz and Kreisler when before, this seemed only a "mystical" attainment. Byron Duckwall has demystified the genius of Dounis and generously offered us a concise package of secret principles of great playing. I must say, I wish I had this treasured information from the very beginning!

"The wisdom of D.C. Dounis has been disseminated in small bites for most of the last century. I realize now that I heard 'echoes' of his genius from all of my teachers, almost from the beginning. What you have done with this website is to put those 'small bites' and 'echoes' into a highly concentrated and accessible form, to the great benefit of all of us. I can't thank you enough!"

"The online cello lessons with Byron Duckwall transformed my playing. I totally improved my sound through learning the fundamentals of touch and vibrato. Many people have remarked about my vast improvement. I feel more confident and now expect to play beautifully. The more I let my native instincts take hold the better everything becomes."

Dounis was able to reduce the complexity of violin playing to its common denoninators and therefore offer simple, tangible, cohesive principles which pertain to all facets of technique.

"...it has been demonstrated that the Dounis theories work."

I have reviewed your web site in depth and I am very impressed. I studied the Dounis technique in detail with George Neikrug for over 30 years. It is so thrilling to know that a student, working with your web site, can learn the basic Dounis principles that will bring forth their own natural instincts, playing the violin or cello."

"Dounis was a genius at the teaching of stringed instruments. My impression of Dounis was that of someone who came from another planet that was much more civilized than ours, and who had the ability to communicate with great clarity. He knew all the mysteries of string playing and could explain everything. He was 100 years ahead of his time".

Dounis had a brilliant mind and was insatiably inquisitive, not about music only but about everything. He read widely and possessed a wonderful memory, and his observation was acute. The result was a phenomenal knowledge of the art and methods of all the greatest players and teachers, past and present. He was a profound, fastidious and intensely sensitive musician and his standards were severe. No technical difficulty nor instrumental consideration was allowed to interfere with good phrasing...

I must pay my humble tribute to a very great teacher.

I find it impossible to convey adequately the stimulus given and the new roads opened by my lessons, or the confidence such teaching inspires. One feels Dounis has come to grips with each problem and solved it and his greatest joy is to share his discoveries.

During the Depression, Dounis took work in the Roxy Theatre Orchestra under the alias "Yaltoff". Later the concertmaster of the orchestra, Mischa Violin, admitted he was studying with Yaltoff whose real name was Dounis and said, " He is the world's greatest teacher."