Below are some suggestions for what an effective, 20-minute practice session might look like.
- 2 minutes playing open strings. This is as simple as your child playing each string several times without putting any left hand fingers down. This gives them a chance to think about their bow hold and get a good, clear sound.
- 3 minutes playing a scale. This gives your child a chance to think about where to put their fingers without having to read music.
- 6 minutes playing a difficult section from one of their pieces. Encourage you child to just focus on one measure at a time, making sure they get it right before going on. A good way to start learning a hard passage is to put down the bow and pluck the instrument – that way, your child can figure out what their left hand is supposed to be doing. Once their fingers are playing the right notes, they can practice the passage with the bow again.
- 6 minutes playing another difficult section. This could be from the same piece, or a different piece altogether.
- 3 minutes playing all the way through a piece, from start to finish. Your child may want to play all the way through the piece they just practiced, or maybe they want to play an old piece they really liked! Either way, playing a whole song just for fun is a great way to end a practice session.
