How to Practice a Violin

Practicing is something that is necessary to gain skills and learn techniques but is something that almost everyone wants to avoid. Practicing is one of the least exciting parts of playing an instrument. One of the problems every student faces with practicing is knowing how to practice by themselves. With a few basics steps, you can begin practicing in a way that is both enjoyable and helpful.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Clear a time each day to practice. Practicing should become part of your routine so that there is a set time each day to do it and no way to talk yourself into avoiding it.
2. Find a set space to practice in. This should be an area where there are few distractions and people aren't coming in and out. It should also be somewhere where you will be able to hear yourself playing and possibly have a mirror to watch yourself playing.
3. Create goals for each day. The length of time that you practice isn't important. Fifteen minutes each day can be as helpful as an hour if you complete everything that you want to.
4. Begin with warm ups. These can be your scales and technique practices for the day. Begin slowly to warm up and strengthen your fingers.
5. Work on problems with your playing. This can be by listening to yourself playing and trying to fix tone, pitch, or bowing problems or it can be fixing certain spots in a scale or piece. Your goal is to improve your overall playing.
6. Find problem spots. There is rarely any need to work on an entire piece bit by bit. Play until you find problem spots in your playing and work on those sections. Break a piece up into sections so that larger pieces aren't as overwhelming.
7. Finish with something you enjoy playing and simply play rather than worry about technique and accuracy. This provides an end to your practice time and a relaxation time during your playing.

Tips & Warnings

• Practicing doesn't need to be done all at once. This should be a productive, relaxing experience while creating skills for better playing and conquering new skills and pieces. Take breaks when you need them.
• Practicing in front of a mirror, using a tape recorder or video recorder can be very helpful because you can watch and listen to yourself while playing without straining to play at the same time.