Words of Wisdom: Effective resources leading to efficient practice habits

Welcome to my new blog “Words of Wisdom”. I hope you are having an energetic and satisfying opening to your new school year. It was a joy for me to work with all the students at the Viola Intensive Program at PIMF in Philadelphia this summer who traveled from Asia, Europe, and numerous places throughout the United States to hone their viola skills and familiarize themselves with how to achieve their next level of advancement.

My Words of Wisdom this week utilizing effective resources that lead to efficient practice habits. include utilizing It is really important to plan your schedule by 1).determining specific times during each day when to practice, 2). deciding what you will spend time on during a specific practice session, 3). determining how much time you will spend practicing each area, 4). assessing the sequence in which you will practice each area of study, 5). planning the practice points for each area, 6). what you expect to accomplish as you work through each item (scales and arpeggios, etudes, solo repertoire, etc.). It is extremely important to have a strategy for each practice session.

Stop practicing once you have used up the time you have allocated to practice each area. I suggest you alter the order of the materials that you set up for each day. Very often, especially when practicing correctly, our brain gets really exhausted. Once that occurs, concentration is diminished during successive effort. It is also a good idea to record your practice time (with a cell phone or other device) to evaluate what you have accomplished to determine if your expectations have been met. While it is sometimes awkward to listen to yourself play, much can be learned by observing yourself. This policy is something many students resist, but it is certainly a most valuable way to prepare for subsequent lessons in order to review what your teachers spend time on during your lessons. If you have issues with specific concepts, bring them to the attention of your private teacher and ask for help. They will gladly “zero in” to pinpoint your confusion.

Happy practicing! Dr. Lindsay.