How to Get the Most from Practice
In case you’ve been thinking your email provider has been holding out on you, rest easy. My newsletters have been a bit sporatic of late and my be for some time as we settle into our new ‘digs’.
I hope and trust, however, that you’ve made good use of the couple minutes each day you would have otherwise spent reading my thoughts. Of course by good use I’m talkin’ a few more minutes of quality practice.
Practice that nourishes your soul; that gently, yet purposefully stretches your hands and mind. Practice that leaves you refreshed and activated for the next activity in your day.
In short, if your practice hasn’t been the most blessed part of your day then you need some new practice habits.
Number one on my list of importance is breathing. Proper breathing fuels your focus and relaxes your body.
Once you’re feeling relaxed, drawing some beautiful tones and feeling awake, begin ramping up your focus.
You begin counting and visualizing.
With all three of these powerful tools up and running you’re truly open for business.
When you’re rested and fresh it may only take a couple of minutes. For me, evening sessions can require 10 or 15 minutes before I’m fully functional.
And yes, there is the odd session now and then when all the cylinders just won’t fire. On those days I will usually just content myself with a warm up and stretch using scales and double stop etudes.
Those of you with concerts, auditions, etc. coming up need to create plenty of space around your practice. By that I mean limiting other activities and distractions and getting plenty of rest. Your mind and body need that space to deeply absorb the music you’re preparing. Walks are excellent for this purpose.
Remember that practicing too much is just and counterproductive as not practicing enough. What you must watch for is the quality of your focus. Once you have lost the ability to visualize what you are playing its time to stop.
Rarely is it healthy to do more than three hours in one session. With breaks it should take more like three and a half hours to do this much. It’s also better to do two sessions of an hour and a half each to get the most out of those three hours.
Heifetz once said that he rarely practiced more than three hours in a day. He went on to remark that if you need more than that to play well you should consider taking up something else.
He also said, ‘If I don’t practice one day, I know it. If I don’t practice for two days, my housekeeper knows it. If I don’t practice for three days, my public knows it.’
From these remarks one should understand that steady, intelligent, and consistent practice is the ticket to mastering the violin. So, find yourself some good, quality time, and enjoy!
All the best,
Clayton Haslop
P.S. Over the years I’ve not found anything more nourishing for the left hand than double-stop playing. And the greatest series of exercises for double-stops, both for utility and pleasure, are the last 10 Caprices in Kreutzer’s magnificent opus for the violin. In volume 4 of Kreutzer for Violin Mastery I reveal all my secrets for cultivating vibrant, singing, double-stops.
