At Hartt (University of Hartford School of Music) last week at their Suzuki institute I attended a discussion called, “Words that work: Language to Promote Effective Practice” led by Dr. Susan Bair. Here are are some of my notes from the discussion combined with some of my own thoughts. 1. From time to time, remember why
Category: Practice
When my son was young I wanted to introduce him to music. We first tried the clarinet. I tried to remove my tendency to throw myself into any activity in search of mastery from the practice by having our babysitter take our son to lessons and supervise practice. Our son learned to play a few
Well of course he did. But here’s what he says about practice. “I was only seven when I attended the Conservatory and was much more interested in playing in the park, where my boy friends would be waiting for me, than in taking lessons on the violin. And yet some of the most lasting musical
Leopold Auer (1845-1930), a famous conservatory violin teacher was asked, “How long should the advanced pupil practice?” Here is his answer: “The right kind of practice is not a matter of hours. Practice should represent the utmost concentration of brain. It is better to play with concentration for two hours than to practice eight without.
My violist friend Joy Pile gave me this quote: Heifetz said “if I don’t practice after one day I will notice, after two days the critics will notice, and after three days all the audience will notice.” Here’s one another from the Jascha Heifetz official web site: Practice like it means everything in the
As the parent of a violin student I struggle with returning to practice with my son after a few days off. The days off are lovely. It is so lovely to see my son enjoy a few days without the structure of practice. But, the day we return to practice is usually challenging. Often the piece we
While I have not attended the Green Mountain Suzuki camp in Rochester, VT, I highly recommend attending a Suzuki camp for my students. I attend the Suzuki Camp at Hartt School of Music, in Hartford, CT for teacher training every year and am astonished at the progress students make in one week. Often student
Often times fast sequences once we’ve learning the notes become a muddy sounding passage when we start to increase the speed. One way to “reboot” or “clean up” the passage is to stop the bow between notes, place the left hand finger down, then bow the note. This process of separating the function of the left and right hands helps
Young musicians ages 7-18 are invited to join with other serious musicians to explore the world of chamber music. Camp Adagio will be held at the Middlebury Community Music Center from August 18-22. Teaching Staff will include pianist Sadie Brightman, composer Jorge Martin, jazz guitarist and composer Justin Perdue, and violinist Emily Sunderman. Mixed-instrument and mixed-aged groups of
One of my favorite exercises to to help focus and calm my mind before I practice is to play a simple scale paying attention to the division of bow. I play each note of the scale for four beats and try to play each of the beats for exactly 1/4 of the bow and play at
Emily Sunderman 