Violin, Viola, and Cello Lessons

Good practice habits are built by finding what works for you. You need to practice regularly, but you can measure practice by the amount of time you devote to practice each day or by accomplishing certain goals each practice session.

You need plenty of repetitions when working on a difficult passage. Even if your brain gets it right away, your fingers and bow hand need more time to coordinate.

Separate the piece you are working on into practice sections, so you can tear sections apart, fix things, then put sections back together. Try starting with a different section each time you practice,so you aren’t always starting at the beginning of the piece.

Self evaluation is the most important skill for successful practice. Recording yourself and listening to yourself play will allow you to evaluate your playing while you are solely focused on listening.

Mastering fine motor skills takes many repetitions. It is best to practice a set amount for several days in a row rather than practiging for a long time all in one day. Slow and steady wins the race!

Know specifically what you are trying to improve during each practice session.

Mark reminders in your music during practice to help you play pieces more consistently.

Do your practice in a good learning environment with few distractions where you are free to focus and problem solve.

Practice pieces in small sections and areas. Practice is for working through problem areas and improving things. Try to avoid playing straight through anything until maybe at the very end of your practice session as a reward.

Use different patterns as a practice technique for problem solving a difficult passage. Here are some patterns to try: long short, short long, double each note, play each note of the passage the same length, play the passage at a very slow tempo, work the tempo up from slow to fast in intervals.