Parents often ask me how long and how often their children should practice. For beginners, I usually pass on the advice my teacher gave me long ago: the student should take the violin out of the case and tune it every day. That’s it.
That’s not really it, of course. But the thing is that the case is sometimes a barrier to playing. If you take it out and tune it, you’ll find you want to put your fingers on the neck. You’re going to want to try that bow out on the strings. You’re going to want to play a little something. And before long, you’re practicing.
Once you’ve got a regular practice habit, once you decide you really want to play, then things get more detailed. this article has some interesting things to say about quality of practice vs. quantity. What do you think?
The link to “this article” is broken.
Thanks for reporting this. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to locate the link. Will post when I find it.
Finally located the link. It’s now working. Thanks again, Dan!