The old adage "practice makes perfect" may not be totally true when it comes to violin practice, but practice certainly does make you a better player. If you want to improve , you want to practice.
Violin practice should be enjoyable and not a pain, but it has got to be productive too. Simply playing a bunch of tunes you know by heart isn't really practice, though it could be fun. So as to get the maximum out of your practice time you need to try and keep one or two points in mind.
Find an area to practice where you won't be distracted. Finding a room without a television, net access, and so on. Is a good start, and letting the answerphone pick up any calls will help. Be sure you have what you need immediately at hand. Clearly, things such as your violin and bow, a music stand and sheet music for any tunes you want to work on, but less obviously, a metronome and a recorder of some form (audio only or auvio/video). A bottle of water or other drink is optional.
Violin practice is best done with quality rather than quantity. You don't need to practice for hours each and every day, but you need to attempt to practice at least three or 4 times per week. Spending hours on violin practice in each session can basically be counter productive. You do not learn well if you are too knackered or exasperated. You may learn better by spacing out sessions. Repetition is a good thing. The more that you work on the same the better you will get at it - although not all at the same time. Violin practice works best over a period of time. Rather than working on one section of a piece for hours at a time, you will find you have better results if you work on the section for a minute or two, and then switch to something else. Maybe revisiting it again later in your practice session, but even better let it sink in and try it again in your next practice session. I've revealed that I will be working on a piece and just get annoyed in an attempt to get it right and then the following day it all slots into place easily.
If you are learning a new piece, break it down into sections. Break it into logical sections four or 8 bars at a time and then move on rather than attempting the entire thing immediately. Listed to a recording of some other person playing the same tune. Listen for the accents and flavour the other player adds to the tune. Don't just attempt to play music as it is written, add your own interpretation. You can play all the same note, but play them differently - it's a refined excellence, but you can actually hear the difference.
A good way to approach violin practice is to begin with a warm up of some sort. Some fast scales, arpeggios or exercises are good to start with. I find I have a couple of arpeggio exercises that I have a tendency to run thru extremely swiftly at the beginning of any practice session. I then run thru a tune or two that I know by heart before buckling down to learn something new. I often practice only for 20 or 30 minutes at a time, but I do incline to pick up an instrument more than one during the day.
To inspire yourself to practice violin, keep your instrument near you and out of the case. Keep it near your desk or couch. You can pick up a cheap stand for your violin that will enable you to keep it close to hand and safe from damage. You may not pick it up for a full practice session, but you might find it convenient for a fast mini practice when time authorizes.
Remember when you do practice violin, make it great fun. If you are exhausted or merely don't feel like it - put it off. Don't push yourself to practice violin if you do not enjoy it. You will not learn well if it feels like work. Work on your violin practice, don't work at it.
Violin practice should be enjoyable and not a pain, but it has got to be productive too. Simply playing a bunch of tunes you know by heart isn't really practice, though it could be fun. So as to get the maximum out of your practice time you need to try and keep one or two points in mind.
Find an area to practice where you won't be distracted. Finding a room without a television, net access, and so on. Is a good start, and letting the answerphone pick up any calls will help. Be sure you have what you need immediately at hand. Clearly, things such as your violin and bow, a music stand and sheet music for any tunes you want to work on, but less obviously, a metronome and a recorder of some form (audio only or auvio/video). A bottle of water or other drink is optional.
Violin practice is best done with quality rather than quantity. You don't need to practice for hours each and every day, but you need to attempt to practice at least three or 4 times per week. Spending hours on violin practice in each session can basically be counter productive. You do not learn well if you are too knackered or exasperated. You may learn better by spacing out sessions. Repetition is a good thing. The more that you work on the same the better you will get at it - although not all at the same time. Violin practice works best over a period of time. Rather than working on one section of a piece for hours at a time, you will find you have better results if you work on the section for a minute or two, and then switch to something else. Maybe revisiting it again later in your practice session, but even better let it sink in and try it again in your next practice session. I've revealed that I will be working on a piece and just get annoyed in an attempt to get it right and then the following day it all slots into place easily.
If you are learning a new piece, break it down into sections. Break it into logical sections four or 8 bars at a time and then move on rather than attempting the entire thing immediately. Listed to a recording of some other person playing the same tune. Listen for the accents and flavour the other player adds to the tune. Don't just attempt to play music as it is written, add your own interpretation. You can play all the same note, but play them differently - it's a refined excellence, but you can actually hear the difference.
A good way to approach violin practice is to begin with a warm up of some sort. Some fast scales, arpeggios or exercises are good to start with. I find I have a couple of arpeggio exercises that I have a tendency to run thru extremely swiftly at the beginning of any practice session. I then run thru a tune or two that I know by heart before buckling down to learn something new. I often practice only for 20 or 30 minutes at a time, but I do incline to pick up an instrument more than one during the day.
To inspire yourself to practice violin, keep your instrument near you and out of the case. Keep it near your desk or couch. You can pick up a cheap stand for your violin that will enable you to keep it close to hand and safe from damage. You may not pick it up for a full practice session, but you might find it convenient for a fast mini practice when time authorizes.
Remember when you do practice violin, make it great fun. If you are exhausted or merely don't feel like it - put it off. Don't push yourself to practice violin if you do not enjoy it. You will not learn well if it feels like work. Work on your violin practice, don't work at it.
About the Author:
Greg Weir is a fiddle (violin) player from Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. Greg runs the Violin Price website, a web resource for people interested in learning, playing or collecting violins. Visit http://violinprice.org/ for more information on violins, violin value and violin and fiddle music.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6777584
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