Here is a compilation of practice tips I have obtained from other musicians*,
as well as from personal experience. Whenever I get frustrated while
practicing, I can almost always find a way of getting out of the rut on this
list. I hope, if you are a vocalist or instrumentalist, they are of some help
to you also.
 | Don't let your intellect learn your music for you. Just because your
brain knows that something is supposed to be a certain way, doesn't mean
that your body knows it yet. One friend told me that your mind learns
something quickly and forgets it quickly, while your body is slow to learn
something but will remember it forever. This concept is one that I think has
really changed the way I practice. I found that if your body knows how to go
through the physical motions of playing a piece, your mind is free to mold
the music.
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| Sing! Use your instrument to imitate your
voice. I think that singing leads to a much more natural and familiar way of
playing. It also forces you to form your own ideas on phrasing, and helps
you to really analyze your own playing.
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| Examine the score away from your instrument.
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| Form a musical and imaginative interpretative concept of the goal toward
which you will work.
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| Focus on only one problem at a time when practicing. Trying to work on
more than one tends to get frustrating, and quite frankly, you don't get
much done. (Believe me, I know.)
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| In order to save time, instead of reading through, take the first eight
or twelve measures. Examine carefully for phrasing, type of bow stroke(s) to
be used, accents, fingering, and individual problems of left and right
hands.
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| Practice fast passages slowly with vibrato to preserve
vitality of sound. Practice melodic passages non-vibrato for accuracy, then
with vibrato on every note. Practice the entire piece in small sections in
this manner. Every time you stumble, examine whether the mistake was caused
by a special technical difficulty or whether you slipped a cog in
concentration.
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| If you find a special difficulty within the passage, determine whether
the problem is in the left hand or right arm, or both! Isolate
it for even more intense work. Master the special difficulty before
going back to practice the section as a whole. Be willing to work
on even tiny fragments of a passage for total mastery- "over-learning"- for
that extra margin of security and for ample technical resources. Remember:
the chain is never stronger than its weakest link.
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| NEVER LET REPETITION BECOME MECHANICAL! IF YOU ARE TIRED, STOP FOR
FIFTEEN MINUTES OR SO.
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| Every time you begin practicing any section, go over it for accuracy at
a slow speed. This also lets you think about the details of the section; for
example, phrasing and how you achieve it.
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| Work with the metronome to increase speed gradually,
never leaving a speed until it is perfect. Be willing to practice difficult
right arm passages on open strings. Practice slurred passages in separate
bows and fast detache passages slurred.
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| Remember that the object and inevitable result of practice is the
establishment of the habit of playing a certain thing in a certain way.
Do not establish the wrong habit.
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| ***Even when working slowly and carefully, keep in mind the elements of
mood and feeling.***
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| The playing of music on an instrument is a very complex function,
including as it does the spiritual, the intellectual, the emotional, the
imaginative and the physical powers of the player. This complexity must be
practiced.
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| There should be times for playing through the piece, study, or section
without stopping. This will serve to develop continuity and consistency in
performance, and also to point up the parts and details which need further
work, as well as helping a number of the technical and interpretative
details fall into place.
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| Budget time, and work on schedule.
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| Don't feel guilty about taking breaks when practicing. If you're tired,
whether physically or mentally, you're not going to get anything worthwhile
accomplished. After years of trying to find a certain way of budgeting time
when practicing, I've come to the conclusion that it's not possible...you
just have to go with what feels right to you. Some days I can go for an hour
to an hour and a half without a break, some I need one every 20 minutes. I
think I found out that if I try to make myself go a certain length of time,
the quality of the work I do goes down.
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| *Very important!!!!!* Regular practice is of utmost
importance for satisfactory progress, whether it be one hour a day or four
hours a day.
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| You should be able to hear or feel progress each day after
working on something. |