Wow, Eddy Chen from 2-set is a member of this forum! Impressed!

Was, if genuine. I didn't realise this was a 4-year-old thread until now.

I'm not sure about the warning against comparisons. 

I think there is 'healthy' comparison that can be a motivating factor for learning & improving skills, if realistic expectations. 

I'll join in with this thread rather than abitrusty's, as there seems to be a little more constructive criticism here, and the above remark doesn't crop up there (unless I read it too quickly).

There's a lot of blank barnum talk in the video.

Many of the things are said as though objective, when people will compare what he says with themselves, making it subjective.

The word "chop" means at least three different things, and in the world of guitarists, believe me, one in a thousand knows what he's talking about. (the correct usage "they're" would have resulted in ambiguity)

Originally the word "chop" literally meant your jaw, and it was used of wind players/harmonica players, who had played long enough for them to have jaws of great endurance. Then it came to mean anyone who can do anything with great endurance. Now, I'm guessing, many a young guitarist will use the word "chop" to mean " piece of shredding" (that's not meant to be a serious comment).

"There's no right way and wrong way to practise"

Of course there are wrong ways!

Practise means repeating over and over again to the less well trained (yes, after a year doing that in a shed they will come out crying), but it means isolating a technical problem and playing slowly to someone who is better trained. For instance, string crossing. On my (2 octave) scales I am practising as follows: 1. place LH fingers; 2. place bow; 3. start bow; 4. move LH fingers; 5. stop bowing; 6. place LH fingers on new string; 7. move bow to new string; 8. start bowing; 9. move LH fingers, etc. Do that slowly then speed up.

For me comparison is important because one has to see results, i.e. see oneself progress. (and because I'm a late beginner, and death is approaching, I want asap to be as good on the violin as I was on the piano 45 years ago and then progress)

Peers are important. At school everyone has been learning their instruments together for roughly the same amount of time (unless you're one of those violinists who began aged 4 months)

One doesn't so much compare oneself with peers as feel that one belongs to a group somewhere - you acknowledge each other. As an adult learner, that's harder. And I've felt it both in violin learning and doing a BA. At school I only did sciences. So, as a mature student doing a BA (between the ages of 39 and 44), I didn't have a clue how to write an essay, or at which level to pitch the English I was using when writing. I just had to overwork to make sure I did enough work. That wasn't so bad - I was very lucky to be doing a collaborative scheme where I could quickly find niches I fitted into and exploit them (i.e. engineer results).

With the violin it's harder. In piano exams it's all about expression (with good technique implied). But violin exams are marked in a more piecemeal manner - you get separate marks for intonation, for example, and the violin is far more technical than the piano. Then you can wonder "well, I know my intonation is perfect, so does that distort the result, meaning I won't know how I compare with others at technique and expression?" If I had friends who played the violin I could find out where I'm at by listening to them. As it is, the orchestral peers I've got often haven't had a lesson for 50 years and haven't practised for 51 years!

Can't block quote yet on this horrible tablet. Chopping with the bow, sure. Also on uke e.g. we call the style of accompaniment chunking or chugging.