V.com weekend vote: Do you enjoy practicing?
It's a simple question, but there are a lot of facets to it: Do you like practicing?
Most of us like playing the violin (or viola or cello, etc....), or we wouldn't do it. But practice? This isn't everyone's favorite activity. It's fun to perform, to play things we already know, to play with other people, even to rehearse - but practicing? This can feel like a chore.
I actually do enjoy practicing - though I find it hard to manage the time to do it. Once I'm there, I usually will practice for longer than I planned. Lately one of the things I enjoy most - especially if I'm not pressed for time - is what I call "doing the math." That is, figuring out new music and also re-working old music: rhythms, notes, bowings, fingerings. Sure, sometimes I get frustrated with that - but I trust that I'll get it, and then I'm so happy when I do. The hardest part, for me, is getting the instrument out and enforcing that time.
I've noticed an interesting phenomenon with students, that is related to practice: it happens when we are working on something very difficult and a student finally "gets it" after much effort. Some students will react with exhaustion - "Finally! Can we just stop now?" Others will react with elation - "I got it!" and now that they can do it, they want to play it over and over.
Efficiency is another factor with practice. I remember a student from my music school days who would make a bit of a show of spending many more hours in the practice room than the rest of us - but then when studio class rolled around, it was clear they did not make much progress with that practice. So practice does not always equate to progress!
Do you enjoy practicing? What do you find to be the most rewarding thing about it? What do you find to be the most difficult thing about it? Please participate in the vote and then share your thoughts on practicing.
You might also like:
- Just How Much Practice Is Enough?
- Violin Technique: Untangle the Knots with Slow Practice
- Are You Actually Practicing? The Anatomy of Deliberate Practice
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Replies
Yes. I, too, find that just getting the instrument out of the case, plus rosining the bow hairs, is the hardest part. It helps to be intentional about this - i.e., set a time to get started and stick to it.
About 90 minutes a day is more than enough to keep me in shape. I have a warm-up routine, about 20 minutes, that I start with bow-arm exercises, left-hand finger gymnastics, and vibrato exercises. I then finish by reviewing scales, shifts, double-stops. After this, I work on rep. If I first identify the hard parts in new material and work them out, then I can more effectively play a piece through and enjoy making music.
From the time I was a kid, I was the geeky type. I’m sure this was one factor in enjoying practice. Violin lessons were my idea - I was self motivated, as opposed to parent motivated. My parents didn’t have to tell me to practice - I was hooked on it. If anything, I had to put reasonable limits on practice sessions so that I didn’t overextend myself.
For me the best answer is "it depends." I have been playing for 65+ years, so I must enjoy some part of it, or wouldn't keep doing! At this point though, I enjoy it when I have control over what and how much I practice. I do not enjoy working orchestra music up to what I feel is a ridiculous tempo for a conductor, or difficult pieces I have played before that I don't particularly like. However, chamber music and music where I am in control, I enjoy very much.
As you preface, Laurie, it does depend on a few things and changes over time.
As a kid, I generally didn't like it much, although as I got better my enjoyment increased. Although I admit I too often focused on the 'easier' / fun bits, and found the more difficult techniques quite trying and frustrating on occasion.
Then in my late teens I was inspired by a well-known Australian violinist, and decided to really give it a go. Then everything was coming from a place of strong motivation, so enjoyed the challenge and reaped the results, of course.
Lately, recurring body issues (back, wrists) have made practising not very enjoyable. I still enjoy the act of practising, and enjoy the routine and sense of satisfaction. I find it also clears my mind - a form of meditation, I suppose. A singular focus that shuts out stray / unhelpful thoughts. But yeah, the pain factor is meaning that the repetition required is too hard.
I really enjoy practicing and do it every day. It's time for me to use a different part of my brain.
[enjoy] is not the best word. For me [rewarding] is more accurate. Any enjoyment gets cancelled by an equal amount of frustration. Practicing is a means to an end. As a student I had big goals and practicing was necessary to improve. For the long middle years I practiced to prepare for the next event, concert, or occasional audition. Now, mostly retired, I could just let it go, but it is a lifetime habit, it is what I do. To preserve brain power some retired people will do puzzles, chess, Soduko, cross-words, etc. Some will take up a new instrument. My puzzle-work is designing fingerings and bowings for pieces that I know I will never perform.
A journalist visited Pablo Casals when he was in his 90's, no longer performing. When asked why he was still practicing the answer was something like "lately I have noticed some improvement".
I don't enjoy it. As Joel says: At times it is rewarding; something has been achieved. But I am not sure that every enjoyment gets canceled by an equal amount of frustration. Frustration to success is m ore 10 : 1.
I am skeptical of everyone who says they like scale practice (I don't believe in "mindfulness" and similar things either).
Sightreading music of course is a totally different thing and is indeed highly enjoyable (reward for practice).
Nah.
I do enjoy practicing, especially when I'm not at a plateau. At the end of May, I broke my right wrist, days before my teachers' studio recital for which I felt really prepared. I've been surprised by how much I miss being able to practice and can't wait to be allowed to lift the bow again, even if I sound terrible.
I like Joel's term for it: rewarding. I do think that one way or the other, if one is to be successful playing an instrument (and "success" can vary widely!) one must find a way to enjoy the process. Like others have mentioned, in many ways practicing is my favorite time of day. Some days, though, I can't get in into the right headspace, and the practicing doesn't go anywhere. Fortunately, those days are rare.
I’m one of the 20% who doesn’t enjoy practicing. It’s so hard to get into the practice room! And once I’m there I’m watching the clock. I really want to be different.
What I find most rewarding is when I can easily run through a passage I had difficulty with. It’s then that I have the most successful practice sessions.
I enjoy practice a lot these days, and I can say a lot why.
Briefly, I used to practice for hours and not getting the result. Now I finally figured out that it's all about getting the result within a short practicing time and take a lot of breaks. Breaks are learning time too because the brain needs the time to process. Specifically:
- With my cute egg timer, turn it on 20 mins for each practice session.
- Practice a chunk and stop when the timer goes off.
- Take a break and think about it or jot down some notes about what's learned, or do something entirely unrelated.
Repeat the above a couple of times.
I enjoy this kind of practice so much not only because it is more disciplined, efficient and see immediate result, but also it greatly reduces the chance for building undesirable stuff due to over-practice and mental fatigue.
Another important psychological factor is that when I feel the scarcity of practice time (as the timer ticking), I tend to value and savor every bit of the practice moment more.
The biggest reason why I enjoy practice is more philosophical. I will discuss this at a different time.
Practicing gives a different pleasure from rehearsing or perfoming, (even if we practice with a view to perfomance!)
I find that around two thirds of our technique lie before and between the notes...
Adrian, so true! If one doesn't enjoy practice violin, I don't understand what's the point to devote oneself years to such an awkward instrument? Of course, pleasure from practice is a special kind, like physical workout or solving difficult problems, one has to see the process itself that gives us deep meanings in order to enjoy it, I think.
I enjoy practicing. I better; it's about all I do on the violin. Not much opportunity for playing. It helps that I have my dream violin and dream bow. I do have an opportunity to play in a recital twice per year.
Once in a while, I look forward to playing in an orchestra. But, not all of the time. Too much else going on in my life.
I've found, learning a number of instruments, that I get excited if there is a challenge and I need to work at it. But if it's too hard, I don't get inspired; likewise, if it's too easy, or something I know too well. I can handle a long series of what might be otherwise boring stuff if I know I am improving my playing by doing so; but just playing something for the sake of playing doesn't inspire me. (Unless it's something I love; then it's a different story.)
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July 7, 2024 at 08:46 PM · I enjoy my practice when I'm the right frame of mind to keep my mind on the best use of the available time, because I make it sound right, and I'm achieving the result I want. Of course, when I forget to stay focused on the goal, it's less enjoyable. On the whole though,it's the best part of my day.