How To Practice Music

Fiddling with life and learning with the occasional dad joke thrown in...  

 

Get Good At Getting Good: Fiddle Practice Tips 

Are you struggling to improve your fiddle skills? If you’re always frustrated during practice, you might be training yourself to be frustrated every time you pick up your instrument. Time to change things up and get good at getting good. 🤔 Recognize Frustration & Change Your Approach Frustration is a common feeling when practicing the … Continued

How To Enjoy Practicing Violin

Overview Practice does not have to suck. Shift your mindset. Give yourself permission to enjoy it. What can you change so that it’s fun? What aspects of the practice do you already enjoy? Try to cultivate those moments and bring it that joy to the aspects you enjoy less. Enjoy the process of practicing music … Continued

Fiddling With Micro-Motions

  Overview By putting movement at the forefront of your practice, you’ll unlock new levels of understanding, and your music will truly come to life. The essential idea is that when first learning a piece or skill, you’re not yet making music. You’re practicing and refining different motions. Become deeply aware of these motions by … Continued

Practice Fiddling Without A Fiddle

  Did you know that you can practice fiddling without a fiddle? Practicing without an instrument is a great way to strengthen your mental models of songs and music. I recently adopted a baby girl named Veda. Probably the most challenging part is having A LOT less time. In response, I’ve been finding ways to … Continued

Adding Variation To Fiddle Tunes

Overview Want to start adding variation to songs you know? This is a way to make your music sound more like music. Here’s a simple process for adding variation: 1️⃣ Choose a scale or song chunk to focus on. 🎼 2️⃣ Start by playing a simple version of it. 👌 3️⃣ Add variation to challenge … Continued

How To Remember Hundreds of Fiddle Tunes

A lot of students say to me, “I can’t remember songs. How can I get better at recalling what I’ve learned?” Here is practice stack to help you: Mental Triggers Index Cards Sing What You Play Daily Listening Review Sets Mental Triggers Here’s a great strategy to help you remember songs. Take each part and … Continued

Fiddling With A Music Journal

If you write about what you practiced today, you can go further tomorrow. Use a music journal to stay motivated, organized and focused. The Three Basic Steps For Using A Music Practice Journal Plan Do Reflect The Plan-Do-Reflect process is the essence of Deliberate Practice. Learn to do this multiple times during a single practice … Continued

Fiddling With Daily Listening

You can actively build mental models of songs through daily listening. It’s a way to practice without your instrument. Doing this allows you to learn tunes more quickly. But more important than that, with daily listening, your music will sound more like music. You’ll naturally add more feeling and expression when you listen. Steven King … Continued

The Creative Act (of Fiddling)

I’m reading Rick Rubin’s new book The Creative Act. I thought it was going to be an autobiography, but it reads more like a spiritual text. It’s hard to overstate how much it resonates with me. He connects the creative process to meditation, awareness, relationships, animals, the creative side of AI, communing with nature, overcoming … Continued

How can I stay in time with a metronome?

At the monthly office hours session, FiddleHed David said, “I can play one tune with a metronome, but on others I can’t do it.” Here are some tips to help you stay in time with a metronome. Simplify to stay in time with a metronome Master the metronome by starting simply with single notes. Start with … Continued