Practical Practicing Pointers

Scheduling
o

Pick a time of day when both parent & child are at maximum energy.

Be consistent! (Especially in the summer, when its most difficult)

If its not possible to practice the same time every day, it can help to
create a weekly schedule and keep it visible in the practice area.

On busy days, there is still probably time for a brief practice session
better than none at all!

Listen! Listen! Listen!

o

If the student hasnt been listening to the Suzuki recording every day,
practice and lessons in general can be miserable

For example, how would you sing Happy Birthday if you had no music
and had never heard it before? You wouldnt even want to try!

Location
o

Have a designated practicing location and keep it in the same place

keep the violin there when its not in use

Choose one thats away from distractions like phone calls, siblings, TV,
etc.

Keep in mind that the students bedroom itself can be a distraction and
can lead to a goofing off attitude, so its preferable to use it only if
there is no other ideal place.

PLAY!!
o

It's called PLAY the violin, not WORK the violin!! Have fun, play games,
be joyful!

Visit "Practice Games" on the left

Use short-term rewards, and lots of them!

o

Younger children have little or no concept of long-term rewards. They

rarely ever think, Im practicing my left hand position now so Ill be
able to do vibrato in book 2. Its helpful for the parent to create shortterm, attainable goals with visible results. These don't have to be
tangible rewards. They can "earn" a link on a paper chain, a sticker, or

can draw part of a picture. They can earn TV time, pick a movie, invite
a friend over, get a bcak rub, story time, play a game, later bed time,
computer time, favorite snack or dessert, etc.

Charts
Enter: the practice chart. You can use the one I provide during lessons
or copy them over each week onto a more interesting and colorful
chart. You can use charts for daily practice, review, essential concepts
that have been mastered, anything. You can fill in the chart with check
marks, stickers, glued sequins, etc. I do recommend making quite a
ceremony out of letting the child place the sticker in the box on the
chart.

Small rewards for remembering to practice without being reminded

Avoid the P-word

o

For some students, the word practice already has negative

connotation. Instead of saying its time to practice, or go practice
now, you could try, Id love to hear some pretty music now or Hey
lets go play some violin! or Your violin is getting lonely! Lets go keep
it company.

Do what ever you need to do to make it fun! As long as they have good
general technique (posture, bow hold), they can experiment with moods,
dynamics, styles, etc.

Empower the student

o

End on a good note!

o

Some children really enjoy taking control of their environment this is

usable! Let them be in charge of informing the parent its time to
practice. Some enjoy knowing that the parent needs their help to
remember. The child can be the one to check off the practice chart, or
to put a sticker on a review chart.

Set a timer and make sure time is up while the practice session is still
happy and playful leave them wanting more

Attitude
o

Be playful! Children respond well when families value order, yet

convey it with a light touch & sense of humor.

If you are enthusiastic & optimistic, your child will be, too!

Give specific praise for what was accomplished, then guide what needs
improvement (That was such a great bow hold! Now lets focus on

remembering notes. Whatever you do, dont say, That sounded

terrible! Do it again, and this time, do it right!)

Emphasis on both kinds of practice: mastering important sections of music,

and playing through the whole piece

Listening activities Parent plays a song or part of a song, child guesses

which one it is

Dont do mindless repetition have a technique to polish

Video- or Tape-recording your lessons can help immensely.

o

Encourage them to make recordings for relatives they make great

gifts and are fun to listen to years down the road!

Make recordings for your teacher! Id love to see how practicing

happens at home, and Id be happy to make suggestions.

Be clear of assignments; ask questions if you need clarification.

Motivation

Come up with a reward system that works! Plan on changing it before

it gets worn out.

Exposure! Immerse child in a musical environment. Expose them to

orchestra concerts, solo concerts, music competitions, listen to
classical CDs as well as Suzuki, buy music played by famous violinists.
Help them be inspired!

Go to as many workshops, institutes, and concerts as possible.

Give your child choices whenever possible. They will enjoy being in
control.

Playing the CD right before practicing time can set the right mood.

Do it together
o

Make sure they know youre there for them.

Learn about different composers together. Visit the library, look online.

Be supportive, but dont do everything for themand beware of the

weaning stage. Know that they will eventually (or may already) be
ready to work you out of practicing. Its not the end of the world, they
will need to know how to do it themselves.

Keep it engaged no mindless repetition.

Teach your child that a mistake is a gift! The music is saying Practice me
here! Pay attention to me!

Encourage curiosity & creativity.

o

Be creative yourself! Always be trying to come up with new ways to

make practice interesting and fun.

Learn from other parents and share your ideas

Arrange home recitals Play for family, friends, relatives, etc. Go all out if you
can, print a program, invite a friend to play too.
o

Bring the other parent in on it have mom/dad say So I hear youve

been working on Lightly Row, how wonderful! I would just love to hear
that!

What if practicing has become a battleground??

They may be going through the weaning stage. Embrace it and work with it.
Back off a little, but still try to be there.

For older students who are becoming capable of managing their own practice,
it may be helpful to just listen from another room but still be supportive.

Think of yourself and your child as magnets. Right now, your poles are not
working together. If you push in any direction, youll just keep on pushing
until one of you falls off the desk. You need to flip!

There may be underlying factors. Have they been listening to the CD? Are
they embarrassed for any reason? Does either of you have a negative
attitude? Has it gotten monotonous? Difficult?

Talk to me about your individual situation. Together, we can come up with

ways to make practicing different but do-able.

If it hasnt happened to you yet, it probably will! Be prepared and try to come
up with an action plan before it hits.

GAMES
When playing any game, first make it clear to the student with as few words as possible:

1. What the task is (how the student earns the reward.) Ex) practicing for 5 min, 10
min, playing a specific passage, making a bow hold, playing a review piece, etc.
2. What the reward is, if any. Very young students have little concept of working
hard toward a far-off end result. Their rewards need to be more immediate than
"I'll be a good violinist 10 years down the road." Tangible rewards like candy and
money are actually OK every now and then, but use them sparingly.
3. When the game is over. How many repetitions of the task are necessary or how
many minutes to play the game. Whatever you do, do NOT change the rules! If
you feel it's not enough, play another game!

The 'ten times perfect' bead violin from Young Musicians online: a little violin shape with
a wire holding 10 beads-- just flick one over for each repetition.

Abacus- flick a bead for each rep. Montessori products are great for this

Place a random object on top of YOUR head (or on the violin) for each rep. they do.
Sounds and looks ridiculous, lots of fun!

Rooms: Play a repetition/song in each different room of the house.

Stork challenge: Play the entire piece or repetition standing on one foot (GREAT for all 6
Twinkles in a row!)

Silly challenge: Have the child do each repetition doing a different physical thing;
sticking out tongue, closing eyes, standing on one foot, doing fishy mouth, mouth wide
open, one eye closed, making rabbit face, wiggling bottom etc etc. For a silly bonus rep
have them try to do all of the things at the same time!

Silly Cards: Similar to silly challenge, except make silly cards and let child draw a silly
card as a reward. Ex - If child needs to play twinkle and draws "stick out your tongue,"
must play twinkle with tongue out the whole time. It's quite amusing.

The review book - Keep a notebook of every song in the repertoire the student has
learned. Place a tally mark or sticker in the book for every time the student has played it,
and have a reward for 1,000 (or 100, or any number) times for any song.

Dinner or a Movie - Older students can "earn" a night out or a favorite meal. It's better to
use days of practice or number of times a song is played rather than "book one
graduation," which can take some students longer than others.

Spell name - For every task completed, the student earns another block or index card with
a letter of his/her name. You can hand out the blocks in order for very young students, or
out of order for more of a challenge. The game is over when the entire name is spelled
correctly!

Timer game - Great for lengthening student's focus and practice time. Pick a specified
number of minutes (5-10, depending on how long practice should last) and set a timer.
When it goes off, the parent draws a new piece of the picture that the student guesses.
(Or, adds a link to a paper chain, or block to the pyramid, or just about any game below!)

Flash cards - For every task completed, the student "earns" a note card - he/she places it
on the floor or couch. (If you have too many flash cards, some of the tasks can be silly,
like "roll on the floor for 5 seconds.") Play the song made by the flash cards at the end of
practice. You can play the same game with rhythm cards if you have them.

Rhythm sticks - For every task completed, the student may place one rhythm stick (blue,
jello, rest, etc.) into the pattern. Clap the pattern with the parent at the end of practice. If
you don't have rhythm sticks, you can draw a rhythm on paper.

Compose a song - for every task completed, the student may draw one more note on
some staff paper. Play the song at the end of practice.

From another parent - "My son used to be very fond of my "envelope game"; I took a
"baby-chicken" (toy) and placed it on the table, this baby-chicken had lost its nest and my
son had to help finding it. I put different small things in envelops and hang them on a
rope, after one successfull repetition he would choose one envelope and open it. He
would continue so long until he had found this baby-chickens nest."

Cups - Turn small cups upside-down and in one of them, hide a candy or critter. For each
succesfull repetition, the student can lift one of the cups.

Reading - Read to a child a chapter of a book, or a couple of pages. Before you can go
on, the student does a predetermined number of tasks or repetitions.

Dart Board - For older students: put practice tasks or review pieces on a dart board and
let the darts fly!

Sticker Pyramid - Start with playing a difficult passage one time correctly. Put a sticker at
the top of the pyramid. Once the passage is played 2 times in a row correctly, put 2
stickers underneath. 3 times, 3 stickers....up to 10 stickers or more! Can also write X's or
circles on paper instead of stickers.

Number game - Student picks a number between 2 - 9, which is the number of times they
believe they can play a passage correctly. Then they attempt to meet their own goal. Was
the prediction correct?

Take a Step - Play a passage or review song well and take a step forward. Play it poorly
and don't move, try again. Try to make it to the other side of the room!

Stairways - Similar to above, but climbing up a staircase.

Stickers - Draw circles on paper and write the name of one task or review piece on each
circle. Cover each with a reusable sticker and have the student remove a sticker to
discover a task. Hint: If Lightly Row needs work, you can "hide" it under multiple
circles!

Stickers 2 - Similar to above, but write the number of repetitions under the stickers
instead, and you pick the task.

Review Lottery - Write each review piece on a piece of paper and put it in a container.
The student draws a card, plays the piece, and puts the card in a different container. Set a
goal for how many days you have to empty the first jar.

Spinner - Create a spinner and write tasks or review pieces for each direction. Can also
create with index cards and an empty bottle (spin the bottle.)

Finish the drawing - Draw a tree without leaves, or a pot and stems without flowers. For
each task the student completes, he/she gets to draw a piece of the picture! Can modify
picture (barn without animals, cat without face, spider without legs, etc.)

Dominoes - For each task completed, the student places a domino in a line. When all
tasks are finished, the student can start the chain reaction!

Legos or Building Blocks - For each task or good repetition, the student can add a new
lego to a house or tower. This can be done over a length of time to create a masterpiece!
Older students can try making a house of cards (new section after each repeptition)

Parade - After each repetition, add a stuffed animal to the parade.

Paper Chain - Each link in the chain represents a successful repetition or performed
review piece.

Music Crosswords - Online puzzles

If you wouldnt have fun doing it, they wouldnt either. Think of things you might enjoy.

Teach - One of the best ways to learn is to TEACH. Have your child teach a family
member, friend, or stuffed animal how to play. Videotape it!

Six things a day - pick 6 things to practice each day. For example - 10 perfect bow holds
(counts as 1 thing), some drill work on the working piece, 3 review pieces, preview for
next piece.

Practice Candle Burn a candle every time you practice. Once the candle has reached its
end, student can pick out a new book at the bookstore

Birthday Candle - Light a birthday candle (make some type of holder) and make that the
length of the practice session.

Violin Tour - take the student "on tour" --playing something different in each room of the
house (the big tone produced in the bathroom is very exciting!), in a different place in the
yard, or at different neighbor's or relative's homes.

Board games Turn practice tasks into a board game with dice. They will skip a few
tasks, so make sure to put lots on the board.

Student as Parent - Let the student be the parent for one day of practice. This can have
mixed blessings because a parent will often see his own behavior reflected in that of the
child's.

25 minutes = 25 cents - practice for 25 minutes, earn 25 cents.

Recital - Plan a recital for stuffed animals, friends, family, etc. and make a program and
decorate it. Practice for a week in preparation and let the child decide the pieces that will
be played, what favorite cookies will be served, etc. Set up a stage and make a spotlight!

Dice - Roll a dice to determine the number of repetitions of a piece or for drill work (ex play this section the number of times you roll on the dice.) Or, roll the dice to determine
the piece to play. Ex - 1 = Twinkle variation A, 2 = variation B, etc.) Buy a package of
math dice - these dice have more sides with higher numbers.

Deck of cards - like the dice game,, only use cards. Assign pieces to each card. Have
child pick cards to determine the pieces to play and the order. Or write practice tasks on
index cards and have the student draw

Draw a name - write the piece names on pieces of paper. Put in a hat and draw to
determine piece to play and order. Or put practice item on paper (bow holds, scales, etc.)

Make a video - regularly video tape your child playing violin. You'll be amazed at the
progress they make.

Chip Game - use "chips" (pennies, marbles, any kind of token). Set a goal - for example,
keeping thumb bent while playing piece or keeping a good violin posture for entire piece.

Give child and parent 5 chips each. If child meets goal, gets a chip from parent. If misses
goal, parent gets a chip. Keep playing until someone has all of the chips.

Pennies - For every minute of practice, the student gets a penny in the jar

100 dollars for 100 days (for older students) If students practice every day in a row for
100 days, they earn $100. It seems like a lot, but its over 3 months and it only buys a
new outfit and a movie.

For younger students, a smaller variation of that 30 day club, or even the 7-day club for
very young ones. Instead of money, you can use just about anything, as long as you and
the child agree on the prize together.

Make up words to Twinkle variations

Two-headed monster child holds bow, parent holds violin or vice versa

Baby doll Treat the violin as a baby. Hold it gently, name it, change the imaginary
diapers. The bow is the milk bottle, and after a certain amt of practice, change the
diapers.

The review chart have a poster board with all songs learned Student can put a sticker,
check mark, glued sequin, etc. on the chart and see a visual result for each time they play
a review piece

March around the house while playing review songs

Monster Posture - Play them with a monster or piece of candy on the violin for good
posture

Monster Repetitions Put a squishy monster or gummy worm on the violin for each
good repetition

Frog Review / Tip Review Play everything in a certain part of the bow

Mood Review Play all review with a different mood. Come up with moods or draw
them from a hat

Style Review - Play them all staccato or all legato, with different dynamics, different
amounts of bow

Quirky Review - Turn the bow upside down or pluck the strings instead of using the bow

Distraction See how well they know their pieces! Have a family member (younger
siblings work GREAT!) try to distract the violinist without touching & get them to play a
wrong note or laugh while playing.

Questions - ask the child questions that he/she has to answer WHILE playing. Start easy
with yes/no questions, then move up to colors, simple math problems, etc.

Keep count each day of how many review songs have been played and have a reward at
50 or 100

CD Play - Play review songs with the CD. Try to keep up!

Concentration - have a task to perform while playing, such as sticking a leg out, kneeling,
closing eyes, making a face, running in place, standing on toes, humming the tune,
having a conversation, etc.

Home Concerts - The student gets dressed up, stands on the hearth, and performs review
pieces for other members of the family, friends, or a stuffed animal audience

Tremolo Review - move the bow back & forth in quick shakes. Dont use this one too
often if the student has trouble remembering correct bowings.

Bow Fishing Tie a string to the end of the bow with a magnet on the other end of the
string. Try to pick up magnetic fish with a good bow hold.

Pictures - Send pictures of your child playing with great posture to relatives they dont
see very often. Your child will know how proud you are!

No Talking - Set a timer for 5-10 minutes. Neither student nor parent can say a word that
entire time. (Be creative with the talking consequence)

Create a Song - For each repetition or practice point, the student places a note on a staff.
The parent or teacher (or older sibling) plays the song at the end.