How to Make the Most of Practice Time for Violin

Co-authored by Dalia Miguel and Megaera Lorenz, PhD

Last Updated: September 6, 2021 References

The violin is a beautiful but challenging instrument. If you don’t establish a good practice routine, you might soon find yourself getting frustrated with your lack of progress. With a little planning, however, you can make your practice sessions more enjoyable and productive. Spend some time deciding how to prioritize different areas of your practice, and make sure you stick to a clear schedule. But don’t forget to change your routine up now and then to keep it interesting!

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Setting Good Practice Priorities

1
Practice scales and etudes that are relevant to your pieces. Scales and etudes are an important part of any practice session, and they help you build up the basic skills you need to play effectively. You can get the most out of these exercises by choosing scales and etudes that tie in to the pieces you are currently working on in some way.^{[1]
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- For example, practice a scale in the same key as the piece you’re focusing on. You can also use the scale to practice bowing techniques that you’re using in your piece.
- Choose an etude that incorporates similar techniques to the ones in the piece you’re practicing.
2
Prioritize tricky passages in your music. When you’re practicing, it may be tempting to play through the whole piece over and over, or even to focus on just the parts that you find easiest or enjoy the most. Instead, start by identifying the difficult passages and practicing those until you become comfortable with them. Then you can move on to playing through the entire piece.^{[2]
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- You may find it helpful to play through the whole piece once and make note of any areas that are especially difficult for you. Once you’ve identified the rough spots, you can then “zoom in” and work on those.
3
Identify areas where you need to improve your technique. In addition to focusing on difficult passages, it’s important to prioritize general areas of your playing technique that you struggle with. As you practice, make note of any issues that come up again and again, and devote some time each session to dealing with those.^{[3]
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- For example, if you’re good at achieving correct intonation but you consistently have trouble with bowing, take time to focus more on your bowing techniques for a while.
4
Document your progress to help you spot what works and what doesn’t. While you’re practicing, it can be hard to get a clear sense of what your strengths and weaknesses are. You might find it helpful to keep a record of your practice sessions so that you can track your progress and identify areas that need improvement.
- One way to track your progress is to keep a practice journal. Make note of challenges or difficulties that come up again and again, and monitor how much time you’re spending on each section of your daily practice routine.
- You can also get a good sense of how you’re doing by recording yourself with a video camera or a tape recorder. After a practice session, play back your recording to identify areas where you’re improving or still need work.^{[4]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Managing Your Practice Time

1
Pick a good time to practice. You may find that you’re more focused and alert at certain times of the day. Try to fit your practice sessions in at a time when you know you’ll be energized and ready to learn. You should also try to stick to a time when you won’t be pressed for time or interrupted by friends or family.
- For example, if you’re a morning person, this is probably the best time to get your practicing in. Wait until the afternoon or evening if it takes you a long time to wake up and reach your peak.
2
Take care of your physical needs before beginning a session. You’ll have a hard time focusing on your practice if you’re hungry, uncomfortable, or need to go to the bathroom. Take time before you start to make sure you’ve addressed any discomforts or physical needs that might break your concentration or interrupt your practice session.
- If you haven’t eaten recently, grab a healthy snack before you start. Take a drink of water to hydrate yourself and boost your energy.
- Make sure to use the bathroom so you don’t have to take an unplanned break part-way through.
- If you’re not dressed comfortably, get changed before you start practicing.
3
Set up your violin before you practice. Having to stop and fiddle with your instrument during your practice session will slow you down and interrupt your flow. Make sure you give yourself enough time at the beginning of each session to get your violin ready. As you get more experienced with the violin, this process will become quicker and easier for you. Before you start playing, make sure that:^{[5]
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- Your violin is in tune and that the pegs are not slipping.
- Your bow has a fresh coating of rosin and your strings are clean.
- Your shoulder rest is adjusted correctly.
4
Create specific goals for each practice session. Before you start practicing, make a plan for how to approach the session. In addition to making time for each exercise and piece you want to work on during your practice session, decide which specific techniques and passages you want to focus on based on your current progress.^{[6]
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- For example, if you’ve been struggling with a particular fingering technique, make sure to schedule some time into your next practice session for working on that technique.
5
Give yourself a limited time for each task. Setting time limits can help make your practice sessions more focused and efficient. Decide ahead of time how many minutes you will devote to each part of your practice routine, and set a timer to keep yourself on task.^{[7]
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- Try to spend no more than 5 minutes on any one part of your practice routine.
Tip: If you’re practicing a specific passage and find yourself tempted to play the parts before and after it, use sticky notes to mark off the beginning and end of the passage. This will help you stay focused during your allotted time.
6
Write your bowing and fingering on the music. Struggling to remember what bowing and fingering you and your teacher decided on can cut into your practice time. You can avoid this by noting all bowings and fingerings directly on your music score.^{[8]
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- You can also make other types of notes on your score. For example, you might write down tempo changes or bracket off a passage you’d like to focus on during practice.
7
Practice new techniques for at least 60 seconds per lesson. If you’ve just started learning a new technique and you’re not comfortable with it yet, give yourself 1 minute to work on it every session. During that time, don’t judge yourself or worry about how good your technique sounds. Just repeat the activity until the time is up.^{[9]
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- For example, if you’re just starting to learn tremolo, incorporate 60 seconds of tremolo practice into each lesson until you begin to feel comfortable with it.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Keeping Your Practice Sessions Effective and Interesting

1
Choose a good practice environment. You’ll get the most out of your practice time if you’re in an environment that is comfortable, quiet, and free from distractions. For example, if you practice at home, choose a quiet room where you can comfortably set up your music stand and you won’t be bothered by family members, pets, or noise from TVs or radios.^{[10]
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- If practicing at home isn’t a good option, look into finding a devoted practice space, such as a practice room in the music department at your local college or university.
2
Change up your routine occasionally. If you practice the same way every time, you may start to get bored or your playing might become stagnant. Look for ways to break out of your regular routine so that things stay interesting.^{[11]
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- For example, if you’re trying to master a difficult passage, you might mix it up by switching to another tricky passage for a few minutes before returning to the first one.
- If you always do the same warm-up exercises and etudes, try incorporating some new ones into your routine.
- You can also try varying where and when you practice.
3
Stop and analyze your mistakes. Mistakes are frustrating, but they’re also learning opportunities. Whenever you make a mistake while practicing, stop and ask yourself why it happened and how you might fix it.^{[12]
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- For example, you might discover that the fingering in a particular passage gives you trouble because you have a hard time using your little finger to reach the note. The solution might be to spend some time building strength and flexibility in your little finger.
- Try not to get mad at yourself when you make a mistake. It’s a normal part of the learning process. Instead, try to enjoy the process of finding solutions and discovering more about yourself as a musician.
4
Try ear training techniques. Having a good ear can make your intonation better and allow you to play more intuitively. While you practice, take time to hone your ear by playing your piece in different octaves or singing along as you play. You could also listen to different tuning drones and try to match them on your violin.^{[13]
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- Do a search online to find a variety of violin ear training exercises that you can incorporate into your practice.
5
Practice your pieces in different tempos. Practicing at different speeds can help you become more comfortable with each piece and improve the coordination between your hands. As you get comfortable with a piece, practice speeding it up or slowing it down until you’re comfortable playing it at a variety of tempos.^{[14]
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- Practicing each hand separately at different speeds and then putting them together can also help improve your coordination and confidence.
6
Use practice as an opportunity to perform and have fun. Learning the violin should be a joyful process. Make sure to look for ways to enjoy yourself as you practice. For example, once you get comfortable with a passage or a piece, you might perform it for a family member or record a mock performance just for yourself. Take time to play through pieces you enjoy just for the fun of it.^{[15]
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- You can also try listening to music you love to find inspiration and remind yourself of why you chose to take up the violin.
Tip: Try incorporating little games into your practice sessions to keep them fun. For example, put 3 coins or buttons on your music stand and move one over every time you play through a passage perfectly. If you mess up, you have to move all the coins back over to their starting positions.^{[16]
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Expert Q&A

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Question

How should I practice hard pieces of music?

Dalia Miguel
Experienced Violin Instructor
Dalia Miguel is a violinist and violin instructor based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is studying Music Education and Violin Performance at San Jose State University and has been playing violin for over 15 years. Dalia teaches students of all ages and performs with a variety of symphonies and orchestras in the Bay Area.

Dalia Miguel

Experienced Violin Instructor

Expert Answer

Use all of your focus when practicing difficult pieces of music. Take the hardest part of the music and practice it slowly. Play it over and over slowly until you have memorized it, and then increase the tempo each new time it is played. Adding different rhythms and bowings can help with overcoming hard passages. A personal favorite of mine is backward bowing: if you normally play down-up-down-up, try playing the section up-down-up-down instead.

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Question

What if I have music so hard, I can't even read it or try to improve?!

Community Answer

I'm in grade 10 violin now. A tip I have is to read the notes first and understand them before you start playing them. After that, start playing it one note at a time until you can understand and read them at a steady pace. After you can play the notes perfectly, focus on the timing, tuning, etc.

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Question

A single hair on my bow caught and lengthened as I was putting it away. Like a pulled thread, it won't go back to how it was. What should I do?

Sehara Goonasinghe

Community Answer

If it is just a single hair on your violin bow, carefully cut it off with scissors so it doesn't stay sticking out. Try tightening your bow a bit when you practice, and sightly loosen it when putting away. This can happen to violin bows once in a while, don't worry.

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