5 Reasons You Struggle to Play Fast on the Violin

A common question I get is “why can’t I play fast on the violin?” Or “how do I play fast on the violin?” The question isn’t really how do I play fast. The real question is how do I play fast on the violin and sound good!

Today I’m going to talk about 5 reasons you struggle with playing fast on the violin, how you can fix those problems and start playing fast on the violin!

Out of the 5 reasons you can’t play fast, the last two reasons are some of the often forgotten culprits that can make playing fast on the violin very hard. So stick around to make sure you’re focusing on these two areas so you can improve your ability to play quickly, but let’s start with reason number one…

Also visit 5 Exercises to Help You Play Fast on the Violin for more tips on playing fast.

#1 Bad Left Hand Technique

One of the most common bad habits that I see is a crooked left wrist. This will really impede your ability to play fast on the violin. If your wrist is crooked your fingers have to go up to reach the finger board. If your wrist is straight, your fingers go down to reach the finger board.

A crooked wrist also introduces tension and it’s very hard or impossible to play fast on the violin if your left hand is tense. Try this. Without the violin, make your wrist crooked and try to wiggle your fingers really quickly. Now straighten your wrist and wiggle your fingers. Can you feel the difference?

Crooked wrist impedes fast finger motion

straight wrist allows for fast violin fingers

Playing with your wrist straight will also help you to curve your fingers and play right on the tips of your fingers and both of those things will help you play much more accurately and quickly.

P.S. Check out my free course, Bad Habits That Are Killing Your Progress

#2 Flying Fingers or Not Leaving Fingers Down

If your fingers fly off the string when you don’t need them it’s going to take them that much longer to get back to the string. That’s going to translate to sloppy passages when you’re trying to play fast on the violin. So keep your fingers close to the fingerboard so you can use them immediately.

You also want to leave fingers down as much as you can. You want to avoid what I call “tap dancing” on the strings. For instance, if you have a passage that has a first finger followed by a second finger, do you lift off the first finger?  There’s usually no need to lift it off, so keep it down. Less unnecessary motion will translate to cleaner fast passage.

Now most people have no idea that their fingers are lifting or flying off the strings, so try recording yourself to see if you’re guilty of those very common bad habits.

#3 Inaccurate Pitch

If you’re trying to play something fast on the violin, and it just sounds bad and out of tune, you’ve got to go back and play the passage very slowly. If it sounds even slightly out of tune when you’re playing slowly, it’s only going to sound worse when you speed it up.

If you’re playing slowly and constantly sliding your fingers around to find the right pitch, when you speed up that passage, you’re not going to have time to slide your fingers around to get in tune. The passage will just sound sloppy and out of tune.

So you have to practice pitch accuracy at slow tempos. Aim for being right on the note at the start of the pitch. If you play a note and it’s out of tune, remember what your tendency was and go back and play the previous note and then the out of tune note again and try to correct your tendency. Do this until your muscle memory for accurate pitch is solid and then start speeding up the passage.

#4 Coordination

When we think of how to play fast on the violin, we tend to focus on the left hand. But playing fast and sounding good has a lot to do with your coordination with the bow.

The left hand could be perfectly in tune and super fast and clean but if it’s not coordinated with the bow, it’s still going to sound sloppy. I’ve got some great exercises for coordination and speed here.

#5 Flexibility

You’ve got to have flexibility in both hands to be able to play fast on the violin. If either hand is stiff or tense you’re going to struggle playing fast and sounding good.

For that left hand, that means avoiding the death grip and using light finger pressure. But I think being able to play fast actually depends a lot on right arm flexibility.

For instance, if I’m playing very fast, separate notes and my right arm is stiff and locked, what do you think it will sound like? Not very good. It’s like trying to run with your knees locked.

To be able to change bow directions very quickly your right arm, wrist, and fingers need to act more like shock absorbers, reacting and absorbing all of that quick motion that’s involved in fast bow changes. Try practicing just open strings, changing the bow from down to up very quickly and relax your right hand fingers and wrist so that they are passively following along with the bow.

Now the skills related to a relaxed, flexible bow hand are not things that you’re going to learn over night. It does take a lot of training and practice and I’ve got a lot of resources to help you with that in my online studio.

You should also make sure that you are working on playing your scales and arpeggios at faster tempos using a metronome. If it’s hard to play a scale quickly and cleanly, it’s going to be even more difficult to play a fast passage in a song well.

So if you’re struggling with playing fast on the violin, slow it down. Take your time focusing on accurate pitch, relaxed hands, and coordination. Gradually speed up those fast passages and you’ll be able to play fast, and sound good at the same time!

Happy Practicing!

4 Common Mistakes Adult Beginners Make When Learning to Play the Violin

If you’re an adult beginner and you feel like you are always struggling with the violin, then understanding these common mistakes adult beginners make when learning the violin might be the key to help you unlock your problems and start enjoying the violin.

I’ve been teaching violin for over a decade to all ages and I’ve learned that there are certain common mistakes and problems that adult violinists always seem to deal with. Now these mistakes aren’t technical mistakes. I’m not going to be talking about things like crooked wrist or bad posture (although I do have a free course that does talk about those common technical bad habits).

What I am going to be talking about is mistakes adults make in their approach to learning the violin. I think these mistakes are some of the main reasons people start learning the violin but then give up later, or maybe why people feel like they are always practicing but never making any progress.

So let’s get started.

Adult Beginner Mistake #1: Trying to Learn Everything All at Once

We’re adults, we can multi-task, right? Well multi-tasking while learning the violin is not a good idea. The left hand is doing something completely different than the right hand. You’re trying to not make scratchy sounds with your bow while placing your left hand fingers on a fingerboard that has no markings or frets, and let’s throw in some music reading while we’re at it.

Learning those three skills at the same time is hard. Period.

Even if you play other instruments or you are used to reading music, I still suggest you separate learning the violin into three separate skills when you’re just starting. Focus just on the left hand. Play pizzicato so you can focus on left hand position and intonation. Then focus on just on the right hand so you can think about tone production and relaxing your bow hold. Learn songs and scales without even looking at sheet music. Then work on combining the left and right hands. And then, start adding in reading music.

Adult Beginner Mistake #2 Having Too Many Violin Books

You just bought your new violin, you’re on Amazon looking at books, and you get all these recommendations for some amazing violin books. Scale books, method books, Irish fiddling, oh Gypsy music for violin, classical music, French fiddling, Ashokan Farewell, gotta have all of those!

I’m of the mindset that there is no such thing as too many books, so maybe buying all of those books isn’t a mistake, but trying to go through all of them at once, is.

I know how this goes. It’s like starting your first garden. You get so excited looking at the seed catalogues that you buy fifty varieties of seeds. And you end up planting a little bit of this a little bit of that and none of the seeds actually produce anything because you’re trying to learn how to grow fifty different types of plants all at once.

It’s the same thing with violin. It can be really tempting to just jump from one song to the next and never stay on any one song for any length of time. This might be one of the reasons you feel like you’re never making any progress, because…you’re not making any progress.

Too many violin books!

My rule is that you should stay on a song until you are absolutely sick of it and then move on. That way you move beyond just learning notes. When you stay with a song until you’re sick of it, you’re converting all of those new skills that you’ve learned into muscle memory which means when you do move on to a new and harder song, you can focus on those more advanced skills because those easier skills have already been converted to muscle memory.

That also gives you the mental space to go beyond just reading music, and start actually making music. You can memorize songs, you can add in dynamics and phrasing, and start to add your own personal stamp to any song you learn.

So my recommendation is that you should stick with one scale or one etude or warm-up exercise, or song for several weeks. You should only be learning one or two new songs at a time, but you should also always save time for revisiting old songs as well.

Adult Beginner Mistake #3 Having Too High of Expectations

My motto for life is “keep your expectations low and you won’t be disappointed.”

There’s a difference between setting goals and having unrealistic expectations. If you have unrealistic expectations, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment and frustration.

You have to learn to enjoy small victories when it comes to learning the violin. Not to be cliche, but it’s all about the journey.

The violin is not something you can conquer which brings me to my next common mistake.

Adult Beginner Mistake #4 Thinking of the Violin As Something To Conquer or a Box to Check

I’ve learned that people who want to learn the violin are pretty cool people with different hobbies and interests. As adults we tend to think of things we want to accomplish. I want to learn how to bake my own bread—check! I want to raise my own chickens—check! I want to get my pilot’s license—check!

I want to learn to play the violin—che….no. The violin is not something you can ever check off. It’s not something you can conquer, so don’t even try to conquer it. You will never master the violin. I’m not saying that to discourage you. The fact that you will never master this instrument, is part of its allure.

If you find joy in little victories and understanding little secrets of the violin,  then you’ll see the violin as part of your life’s journey and not something you have to conquer or check off. And when you approach learning the violin that way, you’ll make more progress and you’ll have fun doing it.

So I hope these tips help you as an adult learning to play the violin. Let me know in the comments below if you feel like you make these mistakes or if there are other mistakes you’ve made and what you’ve done to overcome those problems.

Happy Practicing!

Overcoming the Struggle of Learning to Play Violin

People always say violin is the hardest instrument to learn. Or they say it has a steep learning curve. I disagree with both of those statements. Personally, I believe that every instrument is equally hard to master.

One of the reasons people give up on the violin is that they never realize where the real struggle is. I'm about to tell you.

Violin isn't necessarily harder than other instruments. The thing about violin is that it has a low threshold for frustration.

Think about it. You make some scratchy noises with your bow and you start questioning your whole purpose in life. You get filled with self-doubt and wonder if you're wasting your time. How do I know? ​I've been there!​

I played guitar for 3 years before I ever picked up the violin and I never recall having a soul-searching, doubt-filled, tear-brimming moment after strumming some guitar chords that didn't sound great.

Violin is different. It's easy to get frustrated. The real struggle with the violin is not learning where to place your left hand fingers or how to get a good tone. The biggest struggle with playing violin is overcoming the mental frustrations you impose on yourself.

Once you realize this, you'll understand your greatest obstacle in achieving your dreams is your own mind.

Now let’s talk about WHY people get frustrated so easily and how to fix it.

First, you need to think about the negative cycle of...not practicing!

It's important to practice the violin often, even if it's just for a few minutes. I do recommend taking off at least one day a week to refresh. Make it a goal to practice at least 5-6 days a week.

There's more to it than just not practicing. Not practicing the right way can yield the same results as not practicing at all.

When I first started playing violin, I would practice for 4 and 5 hours a day with okay results. When I finally figured out how to practice as a college student, I could get more accomplished in less time with little or no frustration.

If you would like to get more accomplished in less time, watch the video lesson here on my ultimate practice routine.​

Basically you want to do stretches, warm-ups, scales, etudes or exercises, a solo piece, something fun you do well, and also take some time to experiment.

Whoa! That sounds like a lot! I thought you just said practice every day, even if just for a few minutes? How do I fit all of this in?

Well, each one of those items doesn't have to take 15 minutes. For instance, here's how you could break it down for someone that's been playing for a few months.

• Stretches: 1 minute

• Warm-ups: Playing open strings (no left hand). 2 minutes

• Scales: 3-5 minutes

• Exercises/Etudes: 5-10 minutes

• Solo Piece: 10-15 minutes

• Something Fun You Do Well: 2 minutes

• Time to Experiment: There are no rules when you experiment. Do it for 3 seconds or 3 hours

So you see, that routine could easily fit into half an hour, or maybe two twenty-minute sessions. As you progress, you can scale it up if you want to spend more time on each item.

Now I know life gets in the way. Here's what I want you to do if you don't have time to do your full routine. Only do open strings. Yep, that's it. If all you do is open strings every day, I guarantee, you'll make progress!

There's one more reason people get frustrated with the violin and quit. They think learning violin is a continual upward slope. It’s more like stairs with a combination of progress and plateaus.

You’re going to reach plateaus with certain skills. That’s expected. Don’t get frustrated. Realize you’ve reached a plateau and focus on another skill. Give yourself some time and pretty soon you’ll be making progress again.

People also don't rejoice in small victories. The road to being the musician you want to be is comprised of lots of tiny steps. Find joy in each of those steps and you will always love playing the violin.

One of my favorite quotes is: "Make the most of all that comes and the least of all the goes."

Rejoice when you do something well. And when you don't do something well, learn from it and let it go.

To sum it up, here's what you want to take away.

1. Practice every day even if it's just open strings

2. Develop a practice routine and stick with it as much as you can

3. Rejoice in small victories

Those three items are the keys to making progress on the violin and squashing frustration in its tracks.

For more practicing tips, join me in my ​members-only 30 Day Practice Challenge​ and find a new way to get more enjoyment out of your practice routine every day.

Steps for Sticking with the Violin

So is violin worth it? I think so! There's a reason I stopped playing all those other instruments to focus on the violin. Sometimes the things in life that involve the most struggle also have the greatest rewards.

Those frustrations you're dealing with? I've dealt with all of them and overcame them all! Here's my tips to help you master the mental aspect of playing violin.

• Tell someone you're playing the violin. Whether that's in person or on social media. Accountability helps you stick with something. When you start sharing with people that you play the violin you'll probably hear these two statements, "I always wanted to learn violin" or "I used to play violin..." and then you'll realize how special you are for plugging away at this tantlyzing instrument.

• Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen to music all the time. Fiddle, classical, gypsy, whatever. Mix it up. Stay surprised. Attend live events as much as you can. Listening is the number one thing you can do to stay motivated. Need some ideas? Here's my ​ultimate playlist.​

• Don't set unrealistic goals or expectations. That's just setting yourself up for failure. Learn to enjoy the journey of small accomplishments.

• Play for people. I'm super introverted but playing for people is a great source of joy. Make yourself do it and you'll be happy you did!

• Join a jam session, ​my members-only community forum​, or local orchestra. Playing with others is a great way to stay motivated. Sometimes you just have to jump in feet first and do it.

• Make progress videos. Record yourself. You don't have to listen to it if you don't want to (although it's a great help). In a few weeks, record yourself again. Get a good collection and then see all the progress you've made.

• ​Submit videos and get my feedback on your playing​ through my Online Studio Membership

If you're just starting to play violin, or thinking about starting, don't let this scare you away. Yes, violin is a challenge but if you have the right mindset and a good foundation of the basics, you can learn to play the music you've always wanted to play. If you are brand new, check out my ​"Getting Started"​ articles and videos.

Happy Practicing!

~Lora

Am I Too Old To Learn Violin? A Violin Teacher's Opinion

You’ve always wanted to learn the violin, but now you’re asking yourself, “Am I too old to learn the violin?” Is there a point when it’s too late to learn the violin? Can adults even learn the violin?

I feel like I have a special authority to answer the question “Is it ever too late to learn violin” because I was an adult beginner. Well, adult-ish. Most professional violin teachers start anywhere from ages 2-10. I started playing violin when I was 15, which is unheard of. I was essentially an adult beginner.

I went from knowing nothing about violin to successfully auditioning, getting accepted, and receiving scholarships for several prominent University Music Programs. And I did all of that in less than 3 years!

So if anyone can answer your question, “Am I too old to learn the violin?” I can and the answer is NO!

While I may have had the disadvantage of lost time as an adult beginner, I had the advantage of an analytical mindset, dedication to practice, and a discerning ear. Three things that most 5 year-olds don’t have!

Here’s what I learned during my journey to learning the violin as an adult.

Download Your Free “Learn to Play Violin” Checklist Click here to download your checklist.

How to Learn Violin as an Adult

Set-Up a Daily Practice Routine and Stick With It

One of the benefits of being an adult violin beginner is the ability to organize and structure your time. Setting up a regular practice routine will help you make progress by allowing you to practice the same thing several days in a row.

Need more practicing tips? My 30 Day Practice Challenge will help you practice the RIGHT way and skip all the frustration!

Don’t Compare Yourself With Others

As adults, we are constantly wondering how we measure up with others.While it’s great to listen to better players, it’s tempting to constantly beat ourselves up for not sounding as good or staring to play violin sooner!

My violin teacher always told me that there’s always someone younger and prettier than you that can play twice as well. How true that statement is! You have your own unique skillset and approach to learning the violin, so don’t beat yourself up! Your journey is unique. Your obstacles are unique. If this is what you want to do, then do it and don’t worry about everyone else!

There is No Timeline. You Will Never Absolutely Master The Violin

That might sound disparaging, but when you think about it, it’s encouraging! No matter how well you play the violin, you will never be at a point where you can’t learn anything else. That’s the beauty of the violin. It always has something to teach us. So slow down. There’s no rush. Learn to enjoy small accomplishments. Learn to enjoy the process of making progress and you will always love playing the violin!

Why Violin Teachers Love Adult Beginners

When I started teaching violin, I quickly realized something. I loved teaching adults. Sure, kids are sweet and fun, but let’s face it. The majority of kids are taking violin lessons because their parents want them to play violin. I always had to entice children to practice violin with practice rewards, cheap toys from the Dollar store, or the occasional threat to discontinue lessons with them.

Adult beginners are totally different. They WANT to learn violin. Teaching someone who is as passionate about the violin as you are is a violin teacher’s dream! My adult beginner violinists always came to me with questions, insightful thoughts, and wonderful suggestions for me! Who could ask for a better student?

Even when my adult students came to lessons without having practiced much in the previous week due to life getting in the way, there was always something to talk about and discuss. Violin lessons with adults are never boring or routine!

From my own experience, I knew that adult beginners have several advantages to learning the violin. When I started teaching violin, I realized how important these advantages were. Here’s what I learned.

Advantages of Learning Violin as an Adult

These are my general observations after teaching violin for 15 years. There are always children that don’t follow these typical patterns, but they are rare!

Children

• Extrinsically motivated

• Rely on teachers to constantly analyze and correct their playing

• Have to be taught what “sounding good” sounds like

• Have goals made for them

• Take time to understand music theory (and usually don’t enjoy it)

• Struggle to focus during practice time

• Must be made to practice

• Don’t voluntarily listen to violin and fiddle music

• Don’t realize importance of violin community and support

• Enrolled in online course, jam sessions, and community orchestras BY adults

Adults

• Intrinsically motivated

• Analytical thought process allows them to make faster progress and “be their own teachers.”

• Discerning Ear: Adults know what they want to sound like

• Make their own goals

• Understand music theory quicker and how it applies to violin

• Know how to focus during practice time

• Want to practice!

• Listen to violin music regularly

• Seek out other violinists to learn from and be around

• Seek out their own opportunities to enjoy playing violin (online courses, jam sessions, community orchestras)

As you can see, there are a lot of advantages to learning violin as an adult. So if you’re wondering, “can adults learn the violin?” Yes, absolutely. And they usually make faster progress than children for the reasons I mentioned above.

Disadvantages of Learning Violin as an Adult

Let’s be honest, there are some things adults will struggle with more than children.

The Discerning Ear

This is both a strength and a thorn in the side. As adults, you’ve been listening to music, and probably a lot of fiddle and violin music for years. You KNOW what a good violinist sounds like. That’s great. That gives you a goal and something to work towards. You also know when something sounds bad that it’s not supposed to sound that way.

That skill is a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because it will allow you to progress faster. It’s a curse because you will also beat yourself up because you never sound as good as you want to sound! The lesson to be learned: don’t beat yourself up! Remember, the discerning ear is an asset.

Tension While Playing Violin

Most adults (myself included) deal with tension issues. To be honest, I think children deal with these issues too, they just aren’t as aware of it. For instance, I’ve never had a 6 year old come to a lesson and say, “I can’t figure out how to get my left hand to relax.” But I hear that all the time from my adult beginners! Playing the violin is a demanding physical skill. You’re asking your muscles to do things you’ve never asked them to do before. Dealing with tension and learning to relax while playing is something you’re probably going to deal with. Don’t worry, I know lots of ways to help you out with that!

Previous Injuries

The longer you’ve been alive, the greater chance you’ve developed issues from previous injuries. I recently dealt with De Quervain's tenosynovitis in my left hand that affected my playing for a year and made me totally rethink how I use my left hand. (Just so you know, I didn’t get De Quervain’s from playing violin. It developed after trying to lift something heavy and supporting the weight just on my fingers and wrist—don’t do that!)

I personally think these injuries can make you a better player. Having to work around a problem makes you analyze what’s going on more so than someone who hasn’t dealt with that issue. So embrace your injuries. They can teach you a lot about how to play (and how not to play!)

Is 25 Too Old to Learn the Violin?

People often tell me their age and ask, “Am I too old to learn violin?” No! I’ve had students in their 70s and 80s start learning violin and make phenomenal progress. You’re never too old to learn the violin.

What is the Best Age to Learn Violin?

However old you are. Seriously, next year, you will be a year older and you’ll wish you started violin today. There’s no ideal age to start learning violin. But the longer you wait, the older you’ll be when you start, so start now!

How to Get Started Learning Violin Today

I hope you’ve realized that you are never too late to start learning violin. If you’ve already played violin but took a break, it’s also never too late to start learning violin again. Ready to start learning (or relearning) violin today? I’ve got a free 1 hour course just for you. “How to Play Violin in 1 Hour.” It’s great to refresh the basic fundamentals or learn violin from scratch! Sign up today.

Learning Violin as an Adult is Awesome!

Yes, there were many times I would have given anything to start a year sooner. Now I’m grateful I didn’t. Learning the violin later made me a better teacher, and I also believe it made me a better human being! You’re never too old to learn violin so start your journey today!

Happy Practicing!

~Lora

Download Your Free “Learn to Play Violin” Checklist

Click here to download your checklist.

How to Practice the Violin in 8 Steps: Ultimate Practice Routine

Practicing violin is a skill, just like learning to play in tune is a skill. You have to practice practicing! Once you learn how to practice violin the right way, you’ll be able to make more progress in less amount of time. That means you’ll have more violin practice time to devote to other areas.

I’ve tried many practice routines for violin, but I’ve decided this structure is the best practice routine for maximum results and progress. These 8 practice steps are what I do every day!

Ultimate Violin Practice Routine for the Best Results

You want to make sure you are getting the most out of your practice time with the violin, but more importantly, you want to make sure that you aren’t reinforcing bad habits while you practice.

One reason many beginner violin students get frustrated with the violin is that they can’t ever tell they are making progress. This problem is fixed by getting a practice routine and sticking with it. By practicing the same things everyday and sticking with a routine, you’ll be able to see progress every single day. If you jump around and never practice the same scale, exercise, or song more than a few days, you never truly master any skill or song, and therefore you can never tell if you are making any progress. So if you want to know how to practice violin the right way, here’s what I’ve learned after playing violin for over two decades!

1. Start With Stretches

Stretches are so important to practicing violin the right way. Stretches get your muscles warmed-up and ready to play. They also help you to relax and will help you to avoid tension while you’re playing.

I start by stretching large muscles, like my back, my shoulders, and my arms. Then I stretch smaller muscles, like my neck and wrists. Finally I stretch my fingers and hands. Now you’re ready to pick up your violin and practice!

2. Warm-Ups

During your warm-up period, you are focusing on warming-up each hand separately. Don’t try to combine hands yet! I don’t start playing scales until I’ve done several minutes of warm-ups.

Warm-ups for the violin include things like playing long bows on open strings and doing slides for the left hand. This is also a great time to incorporate some experimenting into your practice time (I’ll talk about that later).

If you need some ideas for warm-ups, watch my 5 Essential Warm-Ups for the Violin.

3. Scales

Scales are absolutely crucial to making progress on the violin. I can’t stress this enough. I know because after I graduated from college, I thought I would cut out scales for a few weeks. (It was my first time in a decade I didn’t have regular weekly lessons with an instructor so I was trying to spread my wings). That experiment didn’t end well. After two weeks of playing scales on and off, I could tell my playing was really suffering. My fingers weren’t hitting the strings precisely, nor where they quickly adjusting to being in tune. Back to scales!

Scales should never be boring. They offer a blank slate to incorporate all of those various tricky passages in your solo pieces. Experiment with your scales and watch your progress soar!

Want a free violin scale book? Sign up below and get my free violin scale book, Creative Scales for the Experimental Violinist!

4. Etudes/Exercises

What are etudes? They are like a mix between a song and a scale. They are usually shorter compositions that focus on one technique element, like trills, 4th finger, or slurred bowings. The options are endless when it comes to etudes.

If you’re not currently playing etudes, this would be the time where I would practice exercises from your method book, or tetrachords.

5. Solo Pieces

Next up in our ultimate practice routine for the violin, your solo piece! Now it might be tempting to just play through your solo piece from the beginning, but this isn’t always the best way to approach practicing. Start with the problem spots while your focus is fresh. Don’t just repeat the tricky spots, be a detective. Try to determine if it’s a left or right hand issue. Simplify the tricky measure as much as possible. Take out tricky bowings or rhythms. Once you’ve isolated the exact problem, play it correctly several times until you start to feel muscle memory taking over.

Then start at the beginning and work your way through the rest of the piece!

It’s tempting to have a lot of solo pieces you’re working on. There are so many great pieces for classical violin and for fiddle that it’s easy to get distracted always playing new songs. But this means you’re spreading out your practice time and never really mastering any one song. My general rule is a max of 2 songs that are your main focus songs. You can have songs that you are polishing or songs that you always play as well. But for new songs, try to keep your practice time focused on one or two songs.

6. End on a High Note

You’re not done practicing quite yet! End your practice time playing something you love. Maybe an easy song you’ve already learned or a measure you do particularly well. It’s important to end your practicing feeling good about what you’ve accomplished. That will make you excited about practicing the violin again!

7. Experiment

Okay, that was the structured part of your violin practice routine. Now it’s time to experiment. Save a special time during or after your regular practice routine to add in some experimenting.

Your experimental time has no structure, no goals, no expectations. Feel free to experiment playing way up high, try doing dynamics with your bow, or pick out a song by ear. Experimenting is crucial to your progress as a violinists but we violin teachers rarely talk about it. Why? It’s hard to teach and it’s impossible to critique! That’s also the beauty of it. So make sure you take time out of your practice routine to experiment!

8. Don’t Practice All At Once

Don’t feel like you have to fit all of these items into one practice session. In fact, it’s best if you split it up. Do your stretches, warm-ups, and scales in one practice session, then take a break and do the rest. Maybe have an entire practice session where you just review old songs or another practice session dedicated entirely to experimenting. Taking breaks will keep you fresh and focused. Before you start practicing after a break longer than an hour, do some type of abbreviated warm-up and stretches. Maybe do some open strings and a scale just to get your fingers and muscles limbered up again.

How Often Should I Practice Violin?

Practice every day. Shorter segments are better than massive practice marathons where you are more likely to loose focus. Don’t feel like you have to do this practice routine all at once. Feel free to split it up, but always start each new practice session with a warm-up or scale. It’s hard to start playing cold!

While it’s important to practice every day, it’s also important to take at least one day off a week. This allows you to refresh and come back the next day ready to practice again!

Use your off day to listen to more music or just relax and go for a walk! If you really want to practice on your off day, you can. But remember, whatever you do on your off day is a bonus!

I think once you implement this practicing strategy you’ll notice drastic improvement, better progress, and more joy from playing the violin! Write in the comments below and let me know how you practice!

Happy Practicing!

~Lora

Advice For Violinists From Other Violinists

I asked violinists on a popular violin forum what advice they would give to beginner violinists. I was overwhelmed by the wisdom in each response. These comments are written by violinists of all ages and all levels. I’m not going to lie, it took my YEARS to learn some of these hard lessons and some of them I’m continually reminding myself about. Some advice is technical, some is more about mental approaches or practicing, but it’s all valuable. Taking this advice to heart early on will make a difference not only in your progress, but in how much you actually enjoy playing the violin. Here’s what other violinists said about advice for beginning violinists!

1. “Get your techniques right or you're going to have to spend double the time in the future unlearning and relearning bad habits.”

   Flat wrist, straight bow, curved pinky….yep, all that good stuff.

2. “Always start practicing slowly and then speed up to tempo once you feel the most comfortable with your piece.”

   You’ll notice a key word in some of these comments. It starts with “S” and is the opposite of FAST. Yeah, we’re all guilty of breaking this rule. I don’t have inordinate amounts of time to practice anymore. I fit it in when I can. The other day, I put something in the oven for dinner and grabbed my violin while it was cooking, thinking I would “run-through” some of the pieces I was working on. I tried to play the song as fast as I had a few days prior and you know what, it sounded awful. I had to slap myself on the forehead when I realized I had broken my solemn vow to play SLOWLY. And when I slowed it down, you know what…it sounded good.

3. “Practice makes permanent, not perfect.”

   Whatever you practice, whether it is correct or incorrect, it’s going to stick like super glue.

4. “Avoid vibrato at all costs to get perfect intonation.”

   Yes, vibrato is cool and it’s fun to do and it sounds awesome. Before you start trying to shake your hand to get that sound, focus on the notes being in tune. Vibrato is actually a subtle change in pitch. You’re dipping below the pitch and then coming back up to it. If you are out of tune to begin with, you are probably only making your intonation worse.

5. “I'm a beginner violinist. What keeps me going is knowing that I will learn at my own pace and not to worry about where I "should" be in my progression.”

   I had to remind myself this almost everyday while growing up. I still remind myself to focus on fixing what I can on a day to day basis instead of lamenting over the future or the past.

6. “Play SLOW!”

   I told you, you’ll see this advice a lot!

7. “Be loose and relaxed in the body, and PLAY CONFIDENTLY (even if you're wrong or it sounds bad)”

   I love this advice about playing confidently. It’s something that took me a long time to learn, but when I did it completely changed the way I play and perform. I’ve watched lots or student recitals and one thing always stood out to me. Most students walk up to the music stand like they are headed for public execution. Their performances often reflect that attitude of defeat. And then there were some students who strode up to the music stand like they’d done it a thousand times. Those students still made mistakes, but I guarantee you, no one in the room even noticed because the audience was put to ease by their confidence.

   I’m very introverted. But when I perform, I’ve learned to hold my head up high and smile no matter how fast my heart is pounding. Having confidence (even if it’s pretended confidence) helps your playing tremendously.

8. “As someone who studied psychology, I can say that you shouldn’t think about how good you’re going to be in the future or how bad you are today. Look at every piece and try to improve it. At the end of each day of practice, flip back through your books and realize how much you’ve already learned. That pile of learning will always get bigger and will make you feel better when you’re getting down on yourself.”

   This is so important to staying motivated. Form goals you can achieve and focus on what you can do today to sound better.

9. “You will get frustrated. This is normal. Write down what motivated you to learn the violin and keep it nearby to motivate you when you reach those points.

   Frustration hits you no matter how well you play. Learning to deal with it is part of learning the violin. Remember, if it were easy, everyone would do it!

10. “You’re only as good as how bad you know your scales are.”

    I had to laugh when I read this piece of advice. It’s so true . If your scales don't sound good, well, everything else will follow suit…

11. “Don't be afraid to take a break, step away, and then try something again after clearing your head or thinking through what may be causing the issue. Just practicing the same thing incorrectly over and over will not only build frustration but engrain bad habits.”

    Learning to practice correctly is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome when learning the violin—bigger than playing in tune or having a good tone. It will make or break your motivation!

12. “SLOW DOWN”

    Sound familiar?

13. “Posture, posture, posture! Good posture -> More flexibility -> Better techniques -> Better sound”

    Posture is often overlooked, especially when you are thinking so hard about playing in tune and making a decent sound with your bow. Having good posture plays an important role in how relaxed your muscles are, which leads to better playing. There is more that goes into good posture besides standing up straight. Make sure you have a comfortable shoulder rest and a good music stand.

14. “Metronome and Scales!!”

    The building blocks for great technique. My college professor once said that when he only has a few minutes a day to practice, he practices scales.

15. Remember not to always practice but also just to play the violin!! (My mum used to say to me when I didn't want to practice "then at least play something")

    This also made me laugh because I had the exact same experience. Growing up, I never had time to actually enjoy playing the violin. Who had time for THAT when you had pages of scales and etudes to learn, concerti to memorize, orchestra music to work on. My mother always asked why I didn’t play something fun every now and then just to loosen up. It took me almost 15 years to realize she was right. Now I include “fun songs” in my day to day practice—right after scales!

Happy Practicing!

Stop Wasting Your Practice Time! How to Set Up a Great Practice Routine

Making your practice time "golden."

A good practice routine is the key to staying motivated to play the violin. But if you don’t have a good practice routine, chances are you will just dabble with the violin and never make any lasting progress. Does the following story sound familiar?

You get out your violin to practice. You know you’re supposed to start out with scales so you whiz through them so you can get to the good stuff. You play through the piece you’re working on. If it’s a good day, you make it all the way through. If not, you stop when it gets hard and go back to play the parts you sound good on. Let’s say it’s a good day. You make it all the way through. What do you do next? Start at the beginning and play it all the way through again. It might sound a little better, chances are, not much has changed. You decide to buckle down on the two or three hard lines. You play through the measures once. Ugh. It sounds awful. You try again. Even worse this time! Stupid fingers. Maybe if you try it faster…nope. Slower? That’s agony, too. You’re frustrated but you’re determined to get it right. You play it again but nothing is sounding right today and your practice time is up. You put the violin up for another day.

Sound familiar? What progress did you make? Not much of any. In fact, you probably reinforced some bad habits. You may not be doing all of these practicing no-nos but everyone is guilty of some of them from time to time (including me)!

What’s the key to being a better player? What’s the key to staying motivated? Practicing smarter. Not practicing more or practicing harder but having quality practice that yields tangible results. Practicing smarter is a skill you must learn. It might be slower going at first but as you get better at practicing, you’ll advance quicker.

Here are some tips to get more out of your practice time and keep your motivation up.

1. Get a warm-up routine—Doing the same warm-ups every day makes it easier to measure progress. Don’t rush it. You’re not only warming up your muscles, you’re getting your mind primed to focus. Start off with some stretches focusing on your upper body. Next I do “windshield wipers” with my bow. Then I move on to open strings. This is yoga for the violin. It’s a time to focus on relaxing, breathing, and making a good tone (one of the hardest things to do!). Draw your bow as fast or as slow as you need to make a good sound. Experiment with different parts of the bow. Try adding more weight or less weight. Think about the angle of the bow.
Next I play scales and arpeggios. You might think scales are easy and therefore don’t require much attention. Teachers prescribe scales because they are easier than your piece and are a great way to perfect difficult skills. Start by focusing on intonation then move on to varying the speeds and using different bowings. There are a million things you can focus on while doing scales. If you can’t think up any, I’m sure your teacher has tons of ideas. For now, only focus on one problem for each scale.
Depending on your level, you’ll want to transition to etudes or other method books and then you’re ready for the main song you’re learning. What’s the number one rule?

2. Keep your expectations low—Then you won’t be disappointed! That’s my life motto. Dream big for long-term goals, but for day to day practice, keep your goals short and manageable. Don’t try to conquer an entire song in one 30 minute practice session. Focus on one ore two measures. Even then, don’t repeat them aimlessly. Focus on one thing at a time to work on like getting your F sharps in tune of smoothing out your string crossings.

3. Keep a practice log—Before you start practicing, write down what your overall goal for the day is. Keep it manageable and tangible. Nothing like “I want to make my song sound better.” Pick something specific and simple like keeping your bow straight and relaxing your grip. If other things fall by the wayside, don’t beat yourself up. If you’ve progressed a little on that overall goal, you’re doing better than if you had no goal at all. As you practice certain measures, again write down what you want to achieve. This keeps you safe from aimless repetition. But, to determine what you need to work on, you need to stop and do some thinking first. Which brings me to my next point.

4. Be a detective—When something doesn’t sound right, don’t play it over and over again the same way hoping that one day it will sound better. Stop. Think. Is it a left hand or a right hand problem? Is it a difficult fingering or a difficult bowing? Are you correctly reading the notes or the rhythm? Once you’ve determined the problem, you or your teacher can come up with a way to fix it. You must do this for every measure and every note that doesn’t sound right! This is what your teacher is doing during your lesson. Learning to practice this way means learning to be your own teacher! That means you can use your lesson time to talk about other exciting things.

5. Stay focused—These tips won’t get you very far unless you can devote your utmost focus to the task at hand. For me, 5-10 minutes is the max I can focus on any one measure or problem, and that’s assuming I’m rested and removed from distractions. When you are past the peak of your focusing ability, simply move on to something else or take a break altogether. It’s better to practice shorter amounts and be focused. Otherwise you could be developing bad habits or reinforcing incorrect bowings, rhythms, etc. Like wise, if you start to get frustrated, put the violin down immediately and come back when you are refreshed.

6. Stop practicing on a high note— When you are nearing the end of your practice time and you play something well, STOP! Put the violin down and walk away while you are still happy! Sure, you could plow through a few more measures and risk getting frustrated but it’s much better to end feeling good about something. It will make you want to practice the next day.

Happy Practicing!

8 Ways To Make Practicing Fun!

Before I share a few ways to make practicing fun for your child, let me start with a caveat. Practicing isn’t always fun. That doesn’t mean that it’s tortuous, but it’s not always smiles and giggles. Sometimes your child just has to buckle down and do it. At the same time, you don’t want music to be yet another homework assignment. Having fun during practice time can be a great way to cultivate creativity and encourage focus if you choose the right “games.”
Some of these games are ways to get students to practice for longer. Keep in mind that as students progress, we want them to stop focusing on quantity practice with mindless repetition and start aiming for quality, goal-oriented practice.

As much as we wish our 7 year-olds would wake up and say, “Today I’m going to focus on getting my F sharps in tune,” that’s probably not going to happen. So until they do start thinking like that, here are 8 ideas to make practicing fun.

*Some of these games can get crazy. Use your discretion to ensure violins and bows aren’t harmed. Otherwise, you might be making an educational visit to the violin shop for repairs!

1. Hopscotch—Perfect for when your child is having problems with a specific section or measure. It requires them to focus to “win.” Using a a tiled floor or a carpet with squares, place a piece of candy on a square. Then position your child 7 squares behind the prize. If they play the measure correctly, they can move forward. If they make a mistake, backwards. When they get to the candy, they’ve played their problem spot correctly for at least 7 times.

2. Crazy Cup—Ideal for when students have already learned a measure or song but still need more repetitions before they’ve mastered it. On several slips of paper, write down actions your child can do while playing their piece (they can help you think up ideas). Keep in mind, they’ll be holding a violin so nothing too crazy like somersaults. In the crazy cup I use for my students, I have actions like “play with one eye closed” or “walk around in circles,” “sway like a tree.” Having them move around while playing can also help them relax and keep them from developing tension problems.

3. Recess—Take advantage of your portable instrument and go outside for practice time! When your backyard gets boring, go to a park or playground. Better yet, surprise a neighbor or friend with a song at their doorstep.

4. Every room in the house—Challenge your child to play a song in every room in your house. They’ll have fun playing in the dark in the closet. Ask them what room they sounded the best in. This will get them actually listening to themselves (which doesn’t always happen). A tiled bathroom will be a lot different than a carpeted bedroom!

5. Teacher time—Have your child be the teacher and let them give you or another family member a lesson. Make sure you ask them if your bow hand and posture are correct. You can deliberately mess something up so the child has to fix it. Act confused and ask them to demonstrate how to do it right. This helps remind them about all those curved pinkies and thumbs!

6. Free time—You might call this noise, but I call it improvisation. Being able to experiment and come up with their own songs is vital to a child’s creative development and aural skills. I never did this as a child and as a result, I was terrified of “jamming” with a band or playing anything without music in front of me. It was a fear that took me a long time to get over. It’s important to start this exercise early. The older the child gets, the more terrified the student becomes of playing something “wrong.” Imposing a few rules gives this time some structure. You must insist they continue to hold the instrument and the bow correctly. To reduce the chaos, give them a certain string to improvise on or a rule of “only open string and 2nd fingers” or “only use the Mississippi Hot Dog rhythm.” You can even make another cup with slips of paper with “rules” for guided improvisation.

7. Play along—Listening to better violinists is the best thing to keep students motivated. Students in orchestra programs have the benefit of always being surrounded by better players to mimic but students that only take private lessons don’t always have that. Youtube a professional violinist and let your child “play along” with them. They won’t be able to play all the notes, but simply pretending to play all the notes can do wonders for motivation. They’re listening to what they could achieve. Of course, use caution. If they’re pretending to be Lindsay Sterling, things could get out of control pretty quickly so be ready to take the violin away and transition to “air violin” before anybody, or anything gets hurt.

8. My Candy—This is my all time favorite trick for getting students to focus while they practice. Identify a problem measure, section, or song. Put five pieces of candy on the music stand. When the child plays the selected measures correctly, they get a piece of candy. But if they play it incorrectly, I take one of their pieces of candy, quickly pop it in my mouth, and comment on how delicious it is. Just seeing me eat their candy is enough to motivate them to focus on the task at hand. Before you start, give some parameters on what is considered “correct.” No stopping and starting, no wrong notes, no flat left hand wrists, good posture, etc.

What else do you do to make practicing fun? Share your ideas!

Happy Practicing!

Recital Time! How to Master Your Recital

It’s that time of year again! Flowers are bursting into life, birds are singing, music students across the country are furiously practicing (hopefully) to get their recital music in shape. First timers are often surprised to learn that they don’t sound as well as they did in the comfort of their own home. That’s because performing is a skill that gets better with time. Just like you practice playing in tune, you have to practice performing! Here are 5 tips to help you dropkick your recital.

1. Perform, Perform, PERFORM!

There are people who are naturally wonderful at everything. And then there are the rest of us who actually have to work for it. But people who perform well have practiced performing. I guarantee you, when a 10 year-old prodigy performs at Carnegie Hall, it’s not the first time they’ve ever played in front of an audience! You must practice performing to be good at it! Start with your most adoring fans: your goldfish, your stuffed animals, your music-loving houseplant. Then move on to more demanding listeners: your dog, your mom, your little brother. Then go for the really tough critics: your grandparents.
Go through the whole rigmarole when you practice performing. Dress up, walk to the stand, play, bow, smile. It’s also a good time to school your family on recital clapping etiquette!

2. Think about the little things.

It’s those pesky things we never though of that trip us up. Like the fact that the pretty necklace we bought just for the recital buzzes when it touches the violin. To avoid wardrobe malfunctions, have a dress rehearsal. Get used to playing in those 6 inch heels. Make sure your dangling earrings aren’t too dangling. Does your collar or tie interfere with your violin? Figure it out before you go deer-in-headlights in front of 50 people.

Think about the other little things. Imagine yourself in the space you’ll be playing. Memorize how high you like your stand. If you are playing from memory, where will you look? Figure out page turns, erase confusing markings in you music. People develop weird quirks when they get nervous. I’m a nose-runner so I keep a hanky handy. Know thyself and be prepared!

3. Don’t Rush!

When adrenaline is pumping through your veins, the natural instinct is to play everything super fast. You’ll get done quicker that way, right? Well, yes, but you’ll hit a bunch of pot holes along the way. At home, practice at a faster tempo than you plan to play at the recital. Just in case your nerves take control, you’ll be prepared. But always plan to play at a tempo slower than your max speed. It’s better to go a little slower and get all the notes than go faster and get every other one.

4.Whatever happens, don’t do this!

Everyone makes mistakes. What separates the professionals and the amateurs is what they do after the mistake. If you grimace like you just swallowed spoiled milk, everyone will know you goofed. If you go on and pretend like nothing happened, there’s a good chance no one in the audience will ever know! But if you stop, grunt, roll your eyes, and publicly flagellate yourself for messing up, it’s like taking a highlighter to your boo boo. Keep a straight face and keep on chugging along.
Performing is like being an actor. You have to pretend you know what you are doing even if you want to crawl in a hole and die. Recital audiences can be oblivious, only slightly better listeners than your houseplant. Even if you make a mistake, and an audience member thinks he heard it, if you keep on going without a scowl, that audience member will shrug and think you meant to do it that way.

5. Eat a Banana!

Seriously. This is a hint handed down from my teacher. Anytime I perform I eat a banana about 30 minutes before I go on stage, even if I have to force it down. It’s hard to eat when you are nervous, but you don’t want to perform on an empty stomach. Bananas reduce anxiety. It’s scientifically proven—probably. Surely someone’s proved it scientifically. Oh, who cares. It works, scientific or not. So grab a bunch before you start getting the jitters!

When you get discouraged, remember, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it! I’d rather mess up on the field than watch from the sidelines.

Happy Practicing!

Making Children (and Adults) Practice Their Violin

How do you make young children enjoy practicing their instrument? That’s the million dollar question.

When I tell people I play the violin, I almost always get one of two responses. The first, proclaimed with joy is,“Violin is my favorite instrument!” The second, muttered with a hint of remorse is, “I played violin in fourth grade.” When I ask if they still play, they give me a hapless shake of the head.  If violin is everyone’s instrument of choice, why doesn’t everyone play it? Why don’t they keep it up after they started in 4th grade?

If you play violin or have a child that does, you probably already know the answer. Violin is a difficult instrument to learn. Period. Like mastering any complex skill, it requires an immense amount of dedication and self-discipline. That’s one of the reasons we all want our children to take music lessons, right?

Most children are excited to learn violin but after a couple months, once that honeymoon phase has worn off, they all begin to wonder if the juice is worth the squeeze. This is one of the most critical times for a young player. They will pitch fits, whine, refuse to practice, beg to quit lessons, and drive parents insane. It’s at this point when students are on the brink of understanding all that wonderful self-discipline, that parents give up the struggle and let their children quit lessons, thereby erasing whatever self-discipline they were about to learn.

The Hump

I call this moment, “The Hump.” (You’re supposed to whisper it with great fear and trembling.) Don’t think you or your children are immune. It hits everyone, young and old.  I was there as a young piano student and my mother let me quit. Now, being a violin teacher, I would give anything to be a better pianist. Remember, you never hear adults say “I’m so glad my mother let me quit music lessons.”

 If you’re an adult experiencing the Hump, this is the point when you have to push through. But if you’re a parent, you’re going to need some different tactics. (I call them tactics because this is WAR!)

Make a Plan With Your Teacher

First, talk to your teacher. Sometimes it’s not obvious to them that your child is going through the Hump. I change my own tactics during this time to help students stay engaged. Your teacher probably has their own ideas to help you.

Creating a Rewards System

There’s definitely something to be said about rewards, especially at a time when children haven’t learned to do something for it’s intrinsic value. Developing a reward system for your students is a great idea to get them over the Hump. Ice cream at the end of good lessons. A dollar for every song completed. Being excused from doing the dishes to practice (this was my mother’s tactic).

On the flip side of rewards, you have to be firm in withholding them when progress is not made, otherwise they’re worthless. Keeping your child motivated with live performances or youtube videos are other great ideas.

Make Practicing Fun

There are lots of ways to make practicing something children look forward to. One way is to learn violin as well. When I have children and parents learning violin together, the children always progress faster and enjoy playing more than the students whose parents aren’t involved. Even if you can’t learn violin too, keep students motivated with performances (whether live orchestra concerts or YouTube videos). Getting creative with your practice time can keep it from being another chore.

It’s All in the Mindset

Watching parents over the years, I’ve learned there is one tactic that is essential to keeping your child in lessons during the Hump. It’s the “over my dead body” tactic.

Even the most innocent children will turn into little devils and try to make you bargain. They will think of reasons to skip out on lessons, forget their music books, use practice time to make the most painful, inhuman sounds on their instrument—just to drive you mad. The minute you start to bargain and say things like “Maybe we’ll take a break for a few months,” YOU’VE LOST.

You don’t bargain with them about attending school or taking showers. Why would you bargain on something you know will make them better, well-rounded adults? When parents adopt the “over my dead body” approach, something amazing happens. Students resign themselves to lessons and within a few more months and they’re surprised at how good they sound!

Remember, if you give up now, music lessons were nothing more than an expensive experiment. Students have also inadvertently learned that’s it’s okay to quit when the going gets tough. Stand your ground! Make your children practice! Trust me, in about twenty years, your children will thank you.