How to Practice the Violin When You Have No Time
Do you feel you don’t have time to practice violin? In this video, discover how to practice the violin when you have no time.
First things first, leave your violin out. So as long as you don’t have any kiddos around that’s going to take that violin and whip it over somebody’s head. I would suggest leaving the violin in its case and having the case open.
Dedicated practice space
Doesn’t matter how small or how big your house is, you can always find a dedicated space for your violin. In this dedicated space you have your music stand and ideally you have the music that you’re currently working on on the music stand.
If you have your music stand with the music on the music stand and you have your violin in the case and it’s open, it makes it a lot easier, when you have just a few minutes, to play the violin as opposed to having to get the violin out of its case or searching for the music. Have everything ready to go.
Take the guesswork out of what to practice
Perhaps you’re a violinist that stops yourself in the tracks of practicing due to the fact you don’t know what to practice.
OR you think,
“I need to have at least three hours to practice everything that I need to do so I’m not going to practice the violin unless I have a three hour time block.”
Practice only five minutes
Well if you are going to always wait for that one-hour or three-hour time block you’re never going to practice your violin.
If you always feel overwhelmed thinking, “I have so much to practice I don’t know where to start, you’re not going to ever practice your violin.” Trick yourself into practicing only five minutes.
Even if you only have five minutes that’s enough. Then your brain starts thinking well I have no idea what to practice in five minutes.
Make Scales and Arpeggios your go to
When you feel like you don’t know what to practice, always go to scales. They’re your go-to, scales and arpeggios, any position, one-octave, two-octave, three-octaves. It doesn’t matter. Scales and arpeggios, that’s your go-to.
For practice, having scales as your go-to takes the guesswork out of what to practice.
Reset with your violin
So we all need a break sometimes between projects. Use your violin time as your brain reset time. If you’re doing something in the house, if you’re working at home, or even if you’re working with clients at work, you can take your violin and when you have that break time between clients or if you’re working online between clients, you can pick up your violin.
I’ve done that so many times. I have violin students that I work with but I also work with other clients as well and when I have just like even a five-minute break or I’m waiting for somebody to show up, I go ahead and take my violin out and play. As long as I don’t have to run to the bathroom lol.
Reset with your violin
The next time you reach for your phone to run to Instagram or check out YouTube videos, take out your violin and play. Play at least one scale before you allow yourself to scroll Instagram.
Use a timer
Since you most likely have your phone nearby when you’re practicing, I would suggest using the timer on your phone. Take a 15-minute time period that you have to practice and divide it up with five things and practice three minutes for each of those five techniques.
Techniques may consist of vibrato, scales, bow work, shifting, and positions. Basically, whatever five topics you want to work on dedicate three minutes to each topic.
Now you may think, “oh three minutes is not enough. I’m not going to be able to do anything in just three minutes.”
Believe me, if you are consistent and you do this three minutes a day you will see more results than if you wait until you have that hour to practice or you spend an hour on one thing and never get to something else.
Take the time that you have and just divide it up by using a timer to help you move from one thing to the next.
Use a practice calendar
By using a practice checklist for each day of the month you don’t even have to think what to practice. Each time you practice a specific technique you can check it off the list each day.
Instead of you having to take the time to create the practice calendar, I have done it for you.
In my practice calendar, you have 365 routines that you can go through to help you on your violin practice Journey.
That way you don’t have to think about what to practice and it keeps the flow going. It’s the same concept, three minutes on each technique and you have a 15-minute practice routine. If you decide to do six minutes on each technique then you have a 30-minute practice routine.
This practice calendar is specifically for technique. Of course, we have pieces to practice. So in order to allow time for pieces: if you have 30 minutes that you can practice, spend 15 minutes on technique and 15 minutes on your pieces.
If you only have a few minutes a day, practice your scales.
Use a practice mute
If you live in a place where you don’t want to disturb anybody when you’re practicing, get yourself a practice mute and that practice mute you just put right on top of your violin and no one will hear you when you’re practicing.
Use your practice mute in the morning or in the evening or in the afternoon while the kids are napping whatever it is or at the office and you don’t want anybody to hear you go ahead and just grab that practice mute.
I’d love to hear from you. Let me know in the comments below which of these techniques that you’re going to use to help you practice the violin when you feel you have no time.
Enjoy and happy practicing.
Happy Magical Practices,
Heather is a classically trained concert violinist residing in Bulgaria. She received her BM violin performance degree from CU-Boulder, studied with top teachers including Rachel Barton Pine. Heather has held leadership positions with multiple orchestras in the Greater Chicago-Milwaukee area. She has instructed millions of violinists globally via Youtube videos, online academies, group coaching and one on one sessions. Heather’s students have won multiple awards, concerto competitions, held concertmaster positions in orchestras and even performed in Carnegie Hall. Heather is an advocate of a holistic violin lifestyle – putting one’s mind, body and spirit as a violin journey priority.
Please share in the comments which above tips you will be implementing into your daily practices sessions.
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