I Never Practice, and Neither Should You!
In fact, I hate the word practice. Probably because of the traumatizing effect of years of being told it was something I had to do when I wanted to do other things.
Practicing feels like work, and when I was a kid, it even felt like punishment. So, I decided to avoid that word at all costs. So instead of using the word "practice," I substitute a much more wonderful, creative word: "play." Who doesn’t like to play?
Never "practice" your instrument - but play it as much as you can. Play every day. The more you play any game, the more likely you are to win at it.
And "winning" at music means being able to play exactly what you want to play. If you want to imitate someone else, like Jascha Heifetz or Jimi Hendrix or Miles Davis, then you should have the ability to do that. If you want to do your own thing and play something original, you should have the ability to do that, too.
Just like any sport, the more you play, the more in shape you are, the more ability you gain, and the more fun it is to play.
Sure, work on trouble spots. Slow things down. Work on intonation, figure out fingerings, shifts and bowings. Make up little etudes or or drills - things that will help you when you get to those real-life, game-day situations: the performance, the jam session, the gig, or whatever your "game" may be.
But always make it playful. When we play, usually there is some goal, something we are trying to win. So, make up a goal: a number of repetitions, a tempo goal, an amount of time spent on it... Whatever it may be, don’t be afraid to turn that into a game you can play.
Making it playful means that it’s not life or death if you don’t succeed or don’t even finish. It doesn’t necessarily have to be perfect to move on. It’s just a fun way to work for a while. And you can always come back to it tomorrow.
It’s important to keep things in perspective in order to keep them fun. Otherwise things can quickly become work and a chore.
Taking the joy out of it, taking the fun out of it - this can be the most destructive thing you do to your playing. It's not good practicing at all.
Yes, we all want to get better at our instruments. We don't want to make the same mistakes over and over again. But it's not nuclear engineering. At the end of the day, if it’s not fun on some level, you’re just doing it wrong.
So play as much as you can, and with whomever you can play with. But never "practice"!
You might also like:
- ASTA 2025: Exploring Improvisation with Alice Kanack, Tracy Silverman and Jason Anick
- The Joy of Branching Out to New String-Playing Styles
- Six Principles For Effective Practicing
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Replies
Tracy, I'm with you 90% and have another 90% of my own to offer.
For the first couple of years I was obliged to practise trite ditties for half an hour a day on a dreadful old instrument but kids in school are obliged to do all sorts of things they'd rather not be doing and this was just another one. Then my parents bought me a violin that felt easy under my fingers and I started to enjoy the sound it made.
A couple more years passed and I joined my school's first orchestra where we struggled to play Mendelssohn's Fingal's Cave overture and Brahms's second symphony. Totally baffling for the first few weeks, after that amazing! When my violin teacher got four of us together to play string quartets my destiny was assured. I'd discovered the magic ingredient that Tracy doesn't mention - for me 90% of the fun is the music.
It's a nice idea to "play" instead of practice. Unfortunately, many students lack the sophistication of being able to slow things down, tackle problems, work things through as part of playing unless this is learned. I certainly didn't until a teacher showed me how to -- after having had several teachers! Teachers have an obligation to teach students how to practice, not just let them go home and play through stuff, which is what I did for several years. My great aunt called me out on that long ago when I was a beginner and she noticed what I was doing. She was right. I didn't know how to really play at all at that time because I didn't know anything about practice. Maybe I couldn't be bothered to put much effort on a thing that we would now call a VSO. My so-called teachers could have pointed out the problem with my instrument and could have made a better point of teaching what I should be doing to improve when I went home from lessons, whatever we decide to call that.
Bonny this is true especially for kids, but then I think the solution still does lie in what Tracy is saying - the best teachers (Suzuki is just one example) make a “game” of the work of practice. My students (even older ones!) are much more willing to do any kind of repetition when I stand up dominoes and have them knock them down after earning it with 10 repetitions! There is undeniable work in it, and no doubt Tracy is exceptional in his ability to make hard work seem playful. But I do think it is good to avoid a chronic feeling or attitude of “punishment” around practice.
Thank you, Tracy! I came to violin late after playing piano for years, but my very first piano teacher tried to instill this in me as well, partially by her attitude and partially by her choice of pieces; that led me to composition and university level recitals, and a love of music that has lasted throughout my life. For some, violin is a career, for others like me, it is not but is an important part of our lives. But for everyone, finding joy in playing should still be there; not just for violin, but as a model for all things in life - "taking the joy out, taking the fun out, this can be the most destructive thing you can do". Play, live, and find the joy.
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August 9, 2025 at 04:41 AM · I love this! Certainly you are a person who has "played" a ton - you don't wind up one of Juilliard's "100 distinguished alumni" and the dedicatee to new violin concertos by John Adams, Terry Riley, etc. ... by being a slacker! But somehow you have reached that level and retained a joyful spirit of innovation about your performing, projects and teaching. Thank you for sharing this spirit with us!