The new year is the perfect time to renew your musical intentions, delve into a new project, and to challenge yourself musically. I personally like the idea of starting off the new year with a practice challenge to strengthen or build new habits. If you are looking to challenge yourself to practice differently, or to…

After beginning to work on the Finale from Ysaye’s Sonata No. 4, I was looking for a warmup routine to ease me into practice while working on the musical and technical elements I’ll need to solidify to play the Finale. I turned to Ysaye’s Exercises et Gammes, a short scale book showcasing exercises and scales as…

As an amateur violinist, violist or adult learner, finding consistent time to practice can be a challenge. But even if you don’t have a large amount of time to set aside, short, intentional practice sessions can help you make meaningful progress on your instrument. Over time, I’ve discovered that adding structure to my own practice,…

Finding consistent time to practice can be one of the biggest challenges as an amateur violinist, violist, or adult learner. It isn’t always possible to sit down for the same amount of time each day, and sometimes we can only make a few minutes practice work in our busy days. Still, even a short session…

As an amateur violinist, I’ve discovered that an ability to sight read leads to to a wide range of playing opportunities. From casual chamber music parties and reading through duets with a friend, to joining a community sight reading orchestra, sight reading skills bring more music into your life. For years, my focus has been…

As an adult violin student, my goal is to continually improve while enjoying the process of learning and playing music. One helpful strategy I’ve found is keeping a music practice journal. Writing lesson notes, setting weekly goals, and reflecting on practice sessions makes my time with my violin more intentional, and makes the daily effort…