I stood backstage in Tokyo, 2005, violin in hand. When you’re a freelance violinist, every concert is an audition, another chance to prove your worth among thousands of technically flawless players. My reflection in the mirror showed what everyone else saw:

Just another violinist with nothing unique to say.

You know that feeling—playing beautifully but remaining invisible? Technical excellence has become the baseline, not the exception. And in that moment, I faced the question every serious musician eventually confronts:

Will I spend my career being the 87th best version of everyone else?

Then I picked up the violoncello da spalla I had crafted earlier that year. Not just an instrument—a forgotten possibility. The results exceeded anything I could have imagined. Within weeks of making the switch, journalists who had never returned my calls were suddenly scheduling interviews. Festival directors who couldn’t remember my name were offering featured soloist positions. Within a year, I was performing as a soloist at major venues like Tokyo Opera City.

The music hadn’t changed. My technical ability hadn’t drastically improved. But I had found my voice—my musical identity. And a musical friend. As Kuijken said when he first played one of my instruments, “It’s like coming home, like this instrument is a confident companion.”

I learned that mastery can actually be a trap—the more perfectly you execute what others already do, the less anyone notices you.

Now I craft instruments using my unique approach known as The Old Masters T.O.N.E.S. Technique™, because

Distinction matters more than degree of excellence.

This might not work for everyone. You might even not like the violoncello da spalla. Your path to standing out will be uniquely yours. But through this book and the instruments I create, I help self-employed string players rediscover what makes them impossible to replace in an age where perfectionism and social media have created a sea of sameness.

Before you spend another hour practicing to become better, ask yourself:

What would make me impossible to replace?

This book isn’t about an instrument. It’s about finding the thing that makes you:

REMARKABLE.