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The Ultimate Beginner’s Violin Practice Guide

by Lora on August 14, 2010

Are you looking for a way to increase productivity in your practicing? Would you like to have a nice system to track your progress? Do you find yourself wondering if you are making any progress, or just staying at the same level? Do you need help getting motivated? Do you wish you knew how to practice better?

Well, I’ve got a secret to tell you…..WE ALL DO! I think most musicians can answer “yes” to at least 3 of those questions, which is the reason I finally buckled down and wrote The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Practicing the Violin.

And you can get it right now by entering your name and email address at the bottom of this post.

This guide will give you all the basic tools to help you:

  • Set your priorities
  • Motivate yourself
  • Practice less with more results
  • Track your progress

I’ve even included some practice diary or journal templates and other printable materials in the back of the guide which you can print, copy, and even customize to fit your needs.

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Practicing the Violin is exactly what I wish I had for years and years as I struggled with my practicing.

Many of you have read my story and you know my feelings of disdain for some of my teachers who were either oblivious or apathetic to the fact that I was practicing my butt off and getting nowhere, while doing nothing to help me get better results.

I even bought a big fancy Daily Practice Journal which was very detailed….but I found myself spending too much of my practice time trying to fill in the journal. It had its own “system” which I had no idea how to implement and use, it more or less spoke a different language, and I didn’t know the language.

It isn’t easy to teach someone how to practice. It sort of has to fall into place a piece at a time. But if you start as a beginner and develop good habits early on, you are going to develop some MAD SKILLS in efficient, effective, focused practicing which will give you awesome results!

Whether you have a teacher already or are attempting to teach yourself, or if you are coming back to your instrument after a long break from it, you will benefit from The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Practicing the Violin. This 31-page guide will help you with:

  • The mental and physical aspects of practice
  • Some of the universal fundamentals of good violin playing, regardless of what method you are studying
  • Identifying correct priorities for a beginner
  • Spotting pitfalls you can avoid just by being aware

It will help you to save time and get results, enabling you to practice less in the long run.

I took a lot of extra time to include the Practice Diary / Practice Journal Template because I think keeping some sort of practice diary is essential. A practice journal helps you to track your progress, and helps you to chart your goals, both long term and short term.

But a practice diary should be simple enough that anyone can use it, and it shouldn’t take a lot of time to fill out. It should include dates, and should have certain categories, which will assist students to be consistent in their practicing.

For instance, if you just use a blank notebook, you might get on a scale kick for a month where you are enthusiastic about scales, and you will track your progress in scales for that month. However, once that enthusiasm wears off, you might stop tracking your scales altogether. If you have a set Practice Journal Template, which includes all the major categories of violin practice, such as scales, etudes, ear training, warm-ups, or whatever, then you will notice if you are playing favorites with one category, and neglecting others. (i.e. the “scales” section would be overflowing, and then suddenly it would be glaringly empty).

That’s why my Ultimate Practice Guide contains bonus materials at the end, including printable pdf templates of a Daily Practice Diary and Weekly Lesson Notes. These can be ALTERED to fit your own needs and style! I don’t believe one size fits all, and if you can customize your diary to fit your needs, it’s going to be a more effective tool for you!

Get your Guide right now by entering your name and email address below.

{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

Stephy August 14, 2010 at 6:44 pm

I downloaded this a few days ago and I must say I am completely impressed. I was just about to ask you for a a few checklists when I noticed this great guide.

Reply

Lora August 14, 2010 at 6:54 pm

Thank you, Stephy! Try it out. If you have any questions, post them here, so other readers can benefit as well. Talk to you soon! –Lora

Reply

jux August 24, 2010 at 10:13 am

I entered my name and email, got the confirmation email, but how do I download the Guide?

Reply

Lora August 24, 2010 at 10:30 am

Hey Jux– after you clicked on the “confirmation” link in the confirmation email, you should have gotten another email with a link for the Guide. I have forwarded your comment to my tech guy, he will be contacting you shortly. –Lora

Bluetche August 26, 2010 at 1:58 pm

Hi Lora!

I admire you and what you doing for all the people who are learning the violin!
You´re have a great soul!

Thanks from Brazil!

bluetche

Reply

Lora August 26, 2010 at 10:08 pm

Muito obrigada, bluetche! Boa sorte com teus esforcos no violino. Si eu posso ajudar de algum jeito, e so falar.

mike October 20, 2010 at 12:02 am

thanks for the guide, I appreciate the straight-forward/detailed nature of it. keep up the good work

Reply

Joe October 20, 2010 at 12:49 pm

You’re welcome, Mike. I’m glad it has been useful for you.

fabiano carvalho December 28, 2011 at 8:59 am

Lora,
Do you speak Portuguese, or was it some translator machine there, in the post from Bluetche?

Anyway, I prefer to write to you in your language.

fabiano.

Reply

Lora December 29, 2011 at 8:05 pm

Fabiano–
My site manager, Joe speaks a little Portuguese. I have to rely on Google Translator (which actually isn’t too bad)….so between Joe and Google, we can limp along even in other languages! I do have plans to translate my classes in the near future. –L

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