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Hill Country Youth Orchestras
HCYO Family Handbook cont'd
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Notes on Practicing

• Choose a quiet room where you won’t be distracted.
• Set one or two simple goals for the practice session.
• Frequent, short practice periods are best for promoting muscle memory.
• Stay relaxed throughout the practice period – stop and stretch, shake out hands.
• If something is feeling awkward or tight, try to find a more natural, relaxed position.

• Start by reviewing your position.
• Start with tonalization exercises (5 minutes)
        • .Pluck the open string to listen to resonance.
        • Make sure string is totally quiet before drawing the bow starting with a bite to
        get the string vibrating.
        • Keep enough pressure using the first finger of right hand to keep sound "in
        the string" and resonating.
        • Make sure there is a definite stop to the end of the sound.
        • Listen and strive for a more resonant, beautiful sound.
• Next play an older, easier exercise that you have already mastered (5-10 minutes).
        • After playing the exercise, take hands off the violin and bow, shake them out,
        and reset to play the exercise again. This promotes muscle memory.
• Play a new exercise (5-10 minutes).
        • Focus on a single goal for the practice session—better rhythm, finger
        pattern, intonation, bow stroke, phrasinig, or tone.
        • Start at different places in the exercise. Learn the last line first, then the
        next to the last line, etc.
        • Repeat short sections a number of times but only while focused on what
        you'd like to improve—don't reinforce what you don't like.
        • Use your ear as your guide for what works and what doesn't. If you want a
        different sound, try something different to achieve it.
• To Master a difficult passage
        • Learn it initially in a very slow tempo.
        • Arter playing it successfully at the slow tempo, increase the tempo gradually,
        playing attention to alll of the technical challenges at every speed and making
        certain that you can play it perfectly.
        • Continue to increase the tempo and masteer at every speed until it reaches
        the correct performance tempo.
• End with a "recital."
        • Do a "performance" of your just comleted work as if in front of an audience. Take
        a bow for what you've accomplished!

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Hill Country Youth Orchestras
321 Thompson Drive - Kerrville, TX 78028 - Phone (830) 257-0809 - FAX (830) 257-0835
Email info@hillcountryyouthorchestras.com
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