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Practice Tips Page |
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I often hesitate to try to explain how to practice because it's hard to know where to start. Basically, practicing is just repeating something regularly so that the body adapts to it. This is the same principle as distance running, weight lifting, martial arts, or even touch typing. For the parents of younger kids, sometimes the difficulty with practicing is not so much figuring out what it is as trying to get the kid to hold still and obey. You know your kid better than I do, and any advice I can give is going to be less helpful than your intuition. But there's some stuff here for you as well. As I've written elsewhere on this site, parents who understand the difference between intellectual learning and physical learning will have children who succeed at the violin. Intellectual learning only has to be understood and remembered. Physical learning must be repeated in its entirety day after day or the skill will not be built and maintained. Learning a musical instrument is not that much different from learning anything else, although--again--I think there is a big difference between skills that have a physical component and skills that are wholly intellectual. Whatever a physical skill may be, there is a separation between understanding and ability that needs to be bridged and balanced. You can understand how to do something without having any hope of physically achieving it; or you can be quite able to do something and simply not know how to go about doing it. In general, the lesson is for increasing understanding and the practice is for increasing physical ability, like going to the gym. But there are also many cases where understanding can only really come from trying something over and over, and that also has to come from practice. Sometimes we need to come at something analytically, by breaking it down and figuring out how it works and then putting it back together. Other times, though, it's actually more effective to think of something as a feeling, or as a larger picture. Riding a bike is the perfect example of this. Intonation is something we almost always have to break down note by note. Not always, but almost always. Bowstrokes are things that we almost always have to think of holistically. If you break them down too much, you get stuck, because analysis usually forgets about momentum and motion. Review is also very important. Review is about two things: first, continuing to build habits so that they are more deeply ingrained. Secondly, review is about taking something to the next level. Playing a piece for four weeks does not mean you've gotten it as good as it can be. Playing a piece for four years makes it better. And if you keep it reviewed, you'll be able to make that difference really count. Once again, it's always useful to compare learning an instrument to learning any other physical skill--dance, tennis, swimming, etc. One strange thing that we all have to deal with is that there will be good days and there will be days when it feels like nothing is working. It takes a certain amount of persistence to get through the bad days, but that persistence is what really increases your ability. In a strange way, quitting on a bad day is like saying no to improvement. Whether this is a mental or a physical phenomenon, I really believe it's one of the most important ones that we encounter. Persistence that comes with a healthy, positive attitude will always yield better results, because the brain functions more efficiently and effectively that way. So, hopefully some of what follows will help. Some of it is for students at an age you don't have to deal with. Take what you want from it all, and let me know if you have any ideas to add.
© 2008 Neil Bakshi |
General principles: Elements of a Good Practice Session
For parents of young students: Advice for Working With Young Kids
Past Handouts: A One-Page Practicing Guide (Spring 2003) Advice for Practicing (Spring 2004) Practice Tips for Summer (2004) How to Practice When I'm Not Around (Summer 2005) Practice Tips for Suzuki Parents
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