Thanks for stopping by! This blog post is all about how to create the best, most productive home practicing experience for you. After years of teaching, I’ve observed a multitude of “little things” that get in the way of a good practice session, lesson, or class. Fortunately, most of them are easy to remedy! I’ve divided them up into three categories: 1) preparation, 2) environment, and 3) planning.
Preparation
Practicing won’t go as well if you don’t feel comfortable. Here’s my list of top things to do before you play to ensure you feel good and don’t have anything getting in your way:
- Wash your hands before playing. Grime and bacteria build up on the violin and bow incredibly fast – nobody wants that.
- Remove any bulky clothing layers – particularly hooded jackets that get in the way of violin placement on your shoulder. Hats can be an issue too if they are blocking your view.
- If you have long hair, pull it back. This goes especially for long hair that falls over the left shoulder where the violin is placed. I can’t even count the number of times (or the minutes wasted) during lessons and classes when I’ve had to ask students to find a barrette or hair tie to get their hair out of the way. The violin tends to slip down off the shoulder if you place the it on top of your hair, which is obviously a problem!
- Wear comfortable shoes (or no shoes)! You’ll be standing for a while, and practice and lesson time should always be spent standing since that’s best for posture. It also reduces back pain in the long run. I’ve had students who didn’t believe this and proceeded to practice seated, then later told me that I was right. (You can practice seated, but there are certain steps to take to mitigate posture issues – I’ll cover that in another post.)
- CLIP YOUR NAILS. I’ll say it again, CLIP. YOUR. NAILS. Again, much lesson time wasted on this one, and home practice as well. Everyone’s fingers are a little different but in general you want as little of the white edge of your nail showing as possible. Fingernails really get in the way of left hand ability, particularly when it comes to vibrato. In pre-covid days I always kept clippers with me (sanitized of course) and would have students clip their nails during the lesson if they had gotten too long. We can’t really do that now, so definitely keep clippers in your case so that this is never an issue.
- Keep your water/coffee/tea close by. You will likely get thirsty, and this way you won’t lose any time getting up to go find something to drink. Personally, I like a strong cup of green tea close by; it helps me focus. I would say snacks too, but then you’d have to stop and wash your hands constantly, which would really cut into your productivity!
Environment
You want to practice in a space conducive to focus and learning. Here are some of the best ways to make that happen:
- Eliminate distraction. The best that you can, that is. We can’t all have a room dedicated to music practice, but we can try to carve out a space that works well. Don’t play in a room where there is a TV on, computer screen up, or lots of noise.
- Always use a music stand, and make sure it is the right height for you. You want it close to the height your scroll is when you’re standing up. Just propping the music in your case or on a table usually positions it too low, and your pages/books will tend to fall over.
- Keep all your books/handouts/notes together in one place. It works best to keep them all in a dedicated tote bag or folder. I also recommend keeping a 3-ring binder with all your handouts and single sheets of music, so that you can find what you need.
- Keep a dedicated pencil (not pen!) on your music stand and a couple in your case. I can’t emphasize this one enough. You will always be writing notes in whether it’s during practice time, a lesson, or rehearsal. Things go so much better if you already have one right there! You can even purchase magnetic holders for them so that they stay put on the stand.
- Keep your practice recordings/videos handy. If you have individual music files, keep them in a folder that’s easy to find on your computer or phone (just don’t let yourself get distracted with other stuff on those devices!). Practicing with recordings is one of the most helpful things you can do, so make them easy to find! If you use CDs, keep a CD player in the area where you practice. If you use digital files, keep a bluetooth speaker close by so that you can always play your recordings at a high enough volume to practice along with.
Planning
Some people love to plan, some people hate it! Either way – you’ll make more progress if you plan out your practice time. Here are some things to take into consideration:
- What time of day are you most alert and energized? That would be your ideal practice time. If practicing at that time isn’t an option, try to find something close to that.
- Consistency & frequency are key! It’s far more productive to practice consistently for shorter durations throughout the week than it is to “cram” several hours in one day. That’s because the more frequently you repeat a certain action, the deeper ingrained it becomes in your muscle memory. Just like how you automatically know which side the light switches are on in your house without looking – your brain and body work together to turn violin-playing techniques into learned “habits” so that you can do them without even thinking.
- Consider setting an alarm or reminder. If you’re like me and get easily distracted, time can slip away before you know it. Setting a calendar alarm or reminder to go off a few minutes before your dedicated practice time can help. You’ll need those few minutes to complete the steps in section 1. 😉
- Plan on rewarding yourself for meeting your goals. Yes, it’s true – playing music is a reward in itself! That’s why we spend so much time and money on it. But sometimes, we need that extra push to help us meet a goal, whether we’re 8 or 80. If you planned on practicing _x_ days straight in a row and you did it, reward yourself! My favorite reward is sushi.
I hope you found this helpful. Do you have other “little things” you’d add to this list? Let me know in the comments below!
Hollis Roberts 
Leave a comment