Practicing is Fun! Make It Fun!!! Even if you’re an Adult!
Practicing is hard work, but you can make it fun. If you and your parent are enjoying yourself, you will continue to be inspired to practice each day. Practicing is about repetition and reviewing with intention.
Spice things up by playing your review pieces in silly or funny ways:
a. Turning off the lights,
b. Closing your eyes,
c. Singing your song (with lyrics or without) Lyric videos)
d. Playing with your bow upside-down
e. With a foot up,
d. On your knees,
e. With a flower in your mouth
f. Plucking your piece
g. With a friend or family member playing the bow and you doing the fingers,
h. Playing as slow as you can (still playing Beautifully!!)
i. Playing as fast as you can (still playing Beautifully!!)
j. Naming all the notes in a song
k. Practicing the bow distribution or the bowing in the air bowing with the recording
l. Putting fingers on your instrument without the bow-along to CD or with your singing
j. Using or making “Review Cards!”
k. Using or making “Practice Cards!”
and many more!
While you are working on a song, you can also use several of the same review techniques, but especially with your practice boxes (the hard part of the song) you will want to have many ways to get to know the hard sections.
Try these for more intentional repetitions (make sure they are good repetitions to count!):
a. Use dice for how many times you need to play it perfectly
b. Earn a tic tac or chocolate chip for every 2-5 repetitions
c. Use a color-by-number picture-one box for every perfect time,
d. Practice the bowing with the CD or with your singing,
e. Practice the fingering with your singing or the CD
f. Ask your teacher to make a slow-motion recording and play along with your practice box
g. Play it exactly backward
h. Listen and find the overtones (where are they and what notes are they)
i. Pluck the passage
j. Play it without the bowings (be careful to put them back in asap)
h. Play it all with hooked bows instead of slurs
and more!
Try to see progress with every practice session. If you're having a bad day or feeling negative about the practice-listen to your song 5 times and try again; if you are still frustrated, take a walk or reach out to your teacher. Look for inspiration! You should feel like you have improved after every practice session, or perhaps you are practicing incorrectly. Talk to your teacher about it!
Make a Goal! I like to make a book goal at the beginning of each book, or especially at the beginning of the year. I will help to gauge how long it typically takes with regular practice (within a range) for my students and then invite each student to make a goal for how much time they will spend on each song. We will consider all weekly obligations, etc, and update the goal every few months to see if we need to adjust it or if we are ahead or behind our goal. I find having a goal helps to keep us on track. For example, in book 2, I find most people will spend 1-2 months on each song. Most songs in book 2 are one page-some towards the end become two pages. This helps us to think; if my goal is one month, then I need to memorize or perfect a quarter of the song or 1-2 lines per week. If two months, then 1 line per week.
The Memorizing Formula: 4 + 4 + 4
I use a formula that I teach you in class to help to reach your goals in practice. The memorizing formula is to take a phrase which is often 8 bars, and split it in half into 4 bars. Play that 4 bars with the notes 4 times perfectly. If we can’t play that perfectly (with correct notes, rhythms, bowings, shiftings, and bow distribution), then we need a smaller section, perhaps 2 bars or 1 or even two notes, if needed. Repeat your section 4 times perfectly with notes (or help from a parent, etc). Next, try the 4 bars (or smaller sections) 4 times without the notes. Often the first time is a bit shaky, but make sure that you are still getting the correct notes, rhythms, bowings, shiftings, and bow distribution; continue til you get 4 correct. Ideally, this is enough of the memorization practice for the day. You have now played that section perfectly 8 times! “It takes 8 times to make a habit, it takes 21 times to break a habit,” so we try to get the song correct as soon as possible! Next practice, you can add 4 bars to the formula or start on the next 4 bars. Summary: 4 bars with music, 4 bars without music, then add 4 bars til the entire piece is down. Then add more dynamics and phrasing!
How much should I practice?
Ideal: The amount of lesson time every day of the week. (i.e., 30, 45, or 60 min daily)
Practical: Most people get 4-7 practices per week. Of course, every day is ideal, but considering a family/spiritual day and other obligations, many people end up with 4-7. I recommend a minimum of 4 to keep progressing. Vacations are different, and I will discuss that later.
When should I practice?
Ideal: Morning! After breakfast. Most people, but especially children, work best in the morning. This is when I practice too! Not everyone has the time or feels calm in the morning before heading off to school and work, so if this is not a possibility, find a space that works best for you and your family. A quiet space (ideally private if possible so that you don’t worry about repeating a problematic passage or any squeaky sounds that need to get worked out. The living room is not ideal as other people might wish to use it and will hear you. If that’s the best for you, it’s ok, but realize it may be causing the student or others in the house anxiety about listening to the practice. Check in with the student or other family members before you decide on the best space.
Other great times:
Right after school, after a snack
Right before or after dinner
After bath time
A. The Importance of Listening
Listening to your CD is incredibly important! It is almost, if not more important than your practicing. I have found when students are getting frustrated with memory that, this is usually the problem that they forget to listen. To play a string instrument, one must learn to hear the notes in your head and mind's eye and, therefore, "find" them on the instrument when you are playing. This means that you must practice hearing the notes and hearing the piece you will be playing. There will come a time when you will not always need to hear the piece before you play it, this will be worked out in your sight-reading sessions in your lesson, but before you can effectively sight-read, you must be able to imagine what the note you see will sound like. The best way to practice your ear training is to listen to your CD, watch your pieces on YouTube, or record your teacher playing your piece. Passive listening is wonderful to do as you are going to sleep, doing homework, or doing any other activity. Some families prefer to listen to several books, not just the book you are working on. This is fine if you like to get to know the following books as well as the one you are working on. Active listening should be done during your practice time: listening to the piece that you are working on while pointing at the notes in your book, air playing the bowings as you hear the recording, or air playing the fingerings while you hear the piece. All these ways teach your ear to adapt your hands to the notes you are aiming for. Increasing your listening will put you on the fast track to learning!
How much should I listen to my repertoire?
a. The entire book at least twice per week (it is usually about 20 minutes long)
b. Your current song 5 times per day (it is typically 20-60 seconds long, even with repeats! They do get longer as you progress, but the first 3 books have concise songs)
When should I listen?
Find a space that works for you and your family:
Entire book:
a. A bedtime listening as you head off to sleep.
b. During shower or bath time
c. During commutes to school or sports
d. While doing chores around the house (dishwashing, folding clothes, etc.)
e. Create a playlist of current favorite songs mixed in with your Suzuki Book songs. Feel free to put in the next book as well or as far as you’d like; some of my colleagues encourage listening all the way to book 10, even when we just start!
f. Use a BRAVE browser to avoid ads on YouTube videos and also have more child protection!
Current song:
a. Same as above with putting your current song in rotation 5 or more times
b. While you are practicing! Listen to the song 5 times before you work on it. Or 1 time, then practice a spot, then another time, etc
c. In-between memorizing repetitions
d. At the beginning or end of your day.