Exactly How Do You Use Your Practice Time, Bo's suggestion Options

[tiger_vio]

Tiger vio, why may I ask do you time each task??? Isn't it good enough if you accomplish the tasks your teacher sets out for you satisfactorily or have just a rough idea of the total time you took for practice?
Tess (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

nuuu i dont time myself! Thats only roughly what I do (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) Like when i go to do my piece, thats how long I end up playing for roughly each time. Im a really disorganized person.. i could never time myself (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

[jacky]

Bohemian -how do you fit time in for all that practice? My daughters about grade 8 standard (shes 11) on violin, doing ggrade 7 singing and grade 5 flute. For the most (all instruments combined) she'll do 1 hour a day. After all - makeup , hair and boys are far more important"! No seriously - I think its important for her to have a life as well!

[Tess]

Bohemian -how do you fit time in for all that practice? My daughters about grade 8 standard (shes 11) on violin, doing ggrade 7 singing and grade 5 flute. For the most (all instruments combined) she'll do 1 hour a day. After all - makeup , hair and boys are far more important"! No seriously - I think its important for her to have a life as well!

My daughter's thoughts - Cut out boys - "they are a nuisance" - then you'll have lots of time! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

I know a girl who went to RAM JA and she wasn't keen on boys till univ. Her mum told me she practised twice a day 2 hours each time before and after school. So, that accounts for 4 hours a day (weekdays only!) but she still came out top academically at her privately-funded school and then got into Univ of London. Anything more than 20 hours a week? I haven't the foggiest idea! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

Honestly, I laughed out loud when my kid told me that about boys and she may well be right. I told her - Wait until you fall in love and then we'll see WHO has the last laugh! Seriously, if you are not interested in boys generally, you don't have to indulge in constantly re-decorating yourself for them! No need to compete with your peers for the best guys. If you look nice to yourself in the mirror, you'd then think, hmm, that's quite sufficient, I (not so-and-so) like the way I look. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) When I was a teenager, I had lots of hobbies and church activities but despite being all bubbly, smiley and outgoing, I've declined most dates and found time to ENJOY life! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Maybe boys in those days aren't so exciting! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) It's SO important to have a balance in life. THAT, simply cannot be overstated. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

EDITED - Guys, please don't get the wrong idea that I'm blaming you. It's just - you are a fact of life! You are fascinating but VERY time-consuming. Guess, you guys can say the same for teenage girls, too.
Tess

This post has been edited by Tess: Dec 1 2005, 10:28 AM

[bohemian]

Bohemian -how do you fit time in for all that practice? My daughters about grade 8 standard (shes 11) on violin, doing ggrade 7 singing and grade 5 flute. For the most (all instruments combined) she'll do 1 hour a day. After all - makeup , hair and boys are far more important"! No seriously - I think its important for her to have a life as well!

I have a good social life and I row 2 hours a day too. I just don't ever sit around and watch TV. I'll come online every so often to check mail, order books etc etc. Somehow I am taking 9 GCSEs, 1 A level and grade 8 drum kit at the same time as keeping a boyfriend (who thinks music takes up too much time) in tow. I think my life is really full, and without music it still would be. Music is probably my greatest strength but I have an academic scholarship and stuff so I work hard too...I have the longest CV in my school!

3 hours of violin per day with rehersals does seem a lot but if I skip lunch and do 45 minutes then, use any frees I have, skip assembly when I can get away with it, go into school early and use a practice room, and use evenings, I get it done. Thing is, it feels like I've wasted years not practicing properly, and I think I've blown my chance of being a musician now. But just in case, I'm making up for it, and since I've started practicing I've been able to do sooo much more and been offered loads of oppertunities. So even though I give some things up, I gain enough to make it worth while and to make me want to practice. I also fear failure. That helps (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Manna]

OK...my daughter's practice is roughly like this-

Violin -

tune and rosin
scales to warm up
3rd, 5th, 2nd position etudes
double stopping exercises
bowing exercises
trouble spots on her currents pieces which are Vivaldi's a minor Concerto 3rd movt, Bach Double 1st movt, and Rieding Concerto in G major 1st movt.
Polish Vivaldi's a minor Concerto 1st movt.

Piano-

scales technical exercises relevant to her Certicate of Merit exam in March
Hanon exercises
pieces- Bach's inventions #1 & #4, a Kuhlau sonatina, a Jazz piece and currently a new piece Mozart's Sonata K545
her own composition.

[LadyMoonlight]

-Tuning the violin
-Silence (prayer, body-stretching plus finger-relaxation exercises) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
-Scales (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)
-Vibrato exercise (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)
-1 or 2 easy favourite piece/s (for warm up?) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
-Silence again (pencil-bowhold exercise) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)
-Sevcik Etudes (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)
-Sight-reading, clapping and then practise playing Concerto piece
-Sight-reading, clapping and then practise playing Festival piece

My practice sessions are not very structured right now. They used to be much better. A previous violin teacher gave me kitchen timer and told me to split an hour's practice into 5/10/15 minute sections - warm ups, scales, studies, exercises, pieces etc. I need to start doing that again because I'm not organised at the moment and given that I'm struggling over the Grade 7 pieces I'm working on, I need a bit more structure in my practice.

The list above seems a really good one, I'll try basing my sessions around that!

[nicki_flute]

Not violin I know. But when I have enough time from schoolwork to practise properly, and am not really tired I do:

Long tones from C1 to C4 for 10 seconds each to warm up
Crabwise scales and arpeggios. Sometimes do the scales as singles
Exercises from De La Sonority
Study

I don't time myself but if it is right, I can spend 30 minutes just on technical work

Fun piece for a couple of minutes
Any pieces which I have to do
Fun piece

[sherunsaway]

For violin
- tune
- improvise/jam to warm up fingers/vibrato - 5 minutes
- practice [insert expletive] grade 8 scales/arpegios - usually 3-4 of the 3 ocatave slurred ones and 1 or 2 of the double stop ones which I'll play 5-8 times each - 20 minutes
- stupid exercise things that my teacher has managed to photocopy about 100 of them. Usually focus on 1 or 2 at a time - 20 minutes.
- play pieces a few times each. pick out dodgy bits/pages. 30-45 minutes
- improvise - mess about with harmonics and the like - try to transcripe guitar parts from bands like muse -5 minutes
- clean violin of all my manky sweat

This post has been edited by sherunsaway: Dec 4 2005, 12:44 PM