Practicing with Open Strings to build a Beautiful Tone

One of the most valuable practicing techniques for general tone and bow control is practicing with open strings.  There are an infinite number of ways to practice with open strings that will generate postive results.  I recommend incorporating 5-10 minutes of open string practice into your daily routine.  Here are some suggestions:

Definitions: Imagine that there are 5 points of contact on the string between the bridge and fingerboard, with contact point 5 being closest to the fingerboard, and contact point 1 being nearly on top of the bridge.

Practice all of these exercises on each open string, then with fingered notes in different positions.

Exercise 1 - Amount of bow stays constant; weight, speed, contact point change.

• Starting on contact point 5, play repeated full bows.  Bow speed should be fast, bow weight should be light.  Play until the sound is full and ringing and the string is vibrating widely from side to side.
• Repeat on contact points 4-1, still using your whole bow. Remember that as you get closer to the bridge the bow weight must get heavier and the bow speed must get slower. 
• Practice on each string.  As you get closer to the bridge, check in to make sure your right arm, shoulder, and hand are relaxed.  No Pressing!

Exercise 2 - Weight and speed stay constant; contact point and amount of bow change

• Starting on contact point 1 in the middle of the bow, play right on the bridge using just an inch or two of bow.  Weight will be very heavy, speed will be very slow.
• Continue playing and move to contact point 2.  Weight stays the same, but you will be using more bow and a slightly faster bow speed. 
• Continue to contact point 3.  You will be using a full bow. 
• Return to contact point 2, then contact point 1, gradually using less bow as you get closer to the bridge.

Exercise 3 - Son File

With your metronome set at quarter note = 40, play whole notes, practicing the following:

• Down bow diminuendo (f>p), up bow crescendo (p<f)
• Down bow crescendo (p<f), up bow diminuendo (f>p)
• Down bow diminuendo (f>p), up bow diminuendo (f>p)
• Down bow crescendo, up bow crescendo (p<f)
• Down bow and up bow hairpin (p<f>p) (f>p<f)

The goal is to expand your dynamic range, so that you play these exercises with the fullest forte and softest piano that you can.  Practice producing these dynamics changes first using only bow speed, then only weight, then only by changing your contact point, then put them all together!

Getting the Most Out of Your Violin or Viola Lesson

Most private lessons are for one hour, once a week.  That leaves 167 hours during the week where your practicing is not supervised by your teacher!  So how do you make sure that you're practicing correctly, in the manner that your teacher suggests? 

The fact is, it's simply impossible for you to remember everything that happens in a lesson.  I require that my students bring in notebooks so that I can jot down important concepts for them, but so much in a lesson is shown visually, or demonstrated aurally with the instrument -- how do you remember those ideas? 

The simple answer is recording.  Recording your lesson allows you to review concepts when you have questions about them, and also serves as a great feedback tool: most students have never actually seen or heard their own playing!  Seeing and hearing yourself will be a shock at first (I know from experience!) but it's the quickest path to improvement.

Audio or Video?

When it comes to recording, audio recording is great, video recording is even better. It used to be that audio recorders were significantly cheaper than video, but now both can be had inexpensively.  And a high quality video or audio recorder isn't necessary, you just need something that gives you a good idea of what you look and sound like.  Something like the Flip UltraHD Video Camera (about $140) or Olympus Digital Voice Recorder (about $30) is all you need.  The Flip is especially handy because it can plug right into the USB port on your computer, so that you can easily save and organize your lessons.

After the Lesson

A good rule of thumb is to review the lesson the day of or the day after the lesson while the ideas from the lesson are still fresh. Often it's not necessary to listen to the whole lesson, just skip to the parts that you had questions about.  Jot down concepts in your own words in your notebook, or write down questions that you have for your teacher to be answered at the next lesson.

Do you record your lessons?  Do you have other tips for getting the most of your lesson?

Thoughts on Practicing

Practicing is a necessary evil for learning the violin or viola.  But it doesn't have to be boring!   Here are a few tips for making your daily practice more enjoyable and effective:

Have a Routine

Having a routine is especially important for those days you don't feel like practicing!  Many times just playing for 5 minutes will get you past the pre-practicing doldrums!  Currently my routine consists of dividing my time this way:

• 1/3 Warm-up Exercises and Scales/Etudes
• 1/3 Passage Work: detailed practice on passages giving me trouble
• 1/3 Practicing Performing: running through sections of pieces or whole pieces. 

Your routine will be different according to your level and needs, so feel free to come up with one that is suited to you!

Pick Areas of Focus

This a great practice strategy for passagework.  Pick 5 areas of focus and play the selected passage, each time focusing on 1 of your areas.  For example:

1. Intonation
2. Rhythm
3. Straight Bow
4. Bow Changes
5. Vibrato

Make sure to focus on only one of these areas at a time, and by the last time you play you'll notice a significant improvement in the passage!

Mix it up! 

Feeling bored with your routine?  Try these ideas to add a little variety to your practicing:

• Improvise:  Sing a melody out loud or in your head, then try and recreate it with your instrument.  Alternatively, blast your favorite song on your ipod or stereo, pick a line, and play along!
• Hold your bow backwards: Instead of holding your bow at the frog, try playing while holding it at the tip!  Primrose did this and it's a great bowing exercise!
• Find a partner!  Find another player(s) to play chamber music with.

Short and Consistent Beats Long and Infrequent! 

Because of the way long term memories get stored in the brain, you'll see much better results if you practice 30 minutes a day 6 days a week, than if you practice for 60 minutes 3 times a week.  Even though those add up to the same amount of time, the first option will always generate better results come lesson time, and chances are you'll be more focused in the shorter sessions!  

Practice Until You Can't Get it Wrong

This is really important! Many times we practice only until something sounds right once. But think about it, if you've practiced the same passage 10 times and only gotten it right once, then you've got a 10% average! Once you've played a passage correctly, practice it at least three more times to lock it in. Ideally you would do this again over the next couple days, and then the passage will feel easy!

Do What Works For You

In the end, we all have our own style and approach to practice, so do what works for you, just make sure you practice!

How about you?  Do you have any tips or tricks you use to make your practice time more enjoyable? Share them below in the comments.