Violin and fiddle stuff

Hilary Hahn - Favorites | FIDDLESTYLES


Saturday, October 23rd, 2010

Hilary Hahn – Favorites

Slow Practice for String PlayersAt a recent Q&A session with kids and their parents, someone piped up, “My son likes to play through his pieces instead of practicing them. His violin teacher says that he should practice slowly. What does this mean?”As anyone who has taken private lessons is probably aware, one practice technique encouraged by teachers is indeed “slow practice”. However, it can be difficult to know where to start when beginning to apply such a method. Many students – at one point, me included – wonder why its so important to do this, what theyre expected to listen for in the process, and how to relate that to their “up-to-tempo” efforts.Below, Ive described some of my favored approaches to slow practice, but these were all around long before I began violin studies. Some people stick with one method; some prefer another. I mix it up, doing all of them individually from time to time, depending on my needs on any given day.To any students out there who may need slow-practice advice, Id suggest reading this through, trying these different options, and figuring out what works best for you. Remember that slow practice is only one of many different practice techniques. A good practicer will alternate it with other musical work, in order to improve consistently on numerous levels. Finally, I have to mention that if you feel like your teacher understands you, chances are that he or she will be able to guide you in the right direction better than anything you might read on someones website.

via Hilary Hahn – Favorites.

Leave a Reply