Learning Musical Efficacy:
How to Practice the Violin

A lot of potentially tedious work goes into the attainment of mastery of any high level skill. This is at least as true with violin playing as it is in any other discipline. So it is easy to see why many of the most successful violin teachers stress technical work in their training of young violinists. Without basic discipline in terms of practice habits and physical discipline gained from method, scales, and etudes in preparation for the challenges in the repertoire, all but a few of the most gifted would-be violinists fail to gain professionally viable skill on the instrument.

The need for technical preparation is inarguable, but the specifics of what technical work is assigned, and most importantly, how one goes about the technical work, can have a profound impact both on the students' willingness to submit to the work, and the ultimate efficacy of the work toward real musical goals.

I recommend the following:

1.      Scales, Arpeggios, and Double Stops are critical to success in the repertoire. Scales, arpeggios, and double-stops should all be practiced with technical precision and physical freedom but also in "full voice," not mechanically. Too often students lapse into an hour-long scale routine as a warm-up without paying attention to a singing and connected quality of sound and a truly beautiful scale. Scale and arpeggio work does a violinist little good and much potential harm if attention is not vigilantly paid to issues of cantabile connection, and expressive and harmonically informed pitch.

2.      Generally etudes are by no means "great music." But all etudes should be handled as if they are musical gems. Singing and connected tone, lovely intonation, rhythmic vitality consistent with the harmonic flow of the piece and tasteful interpretive license are all to be encouraged alongside the specific technical application addressed in the etude. One should make every possible attempt to make etudes sound like art music.

3.      In repertoire, pitch, rhythm, and sound quality should be just as paramount as they are in the etudes: no inconsistency. Students need to be instructed not to be purely "mechanical" in technical work and "musical" only in repertoire.

4.      In slow technical work on the repertoire one should work for the same musical intent that one will show at tempo alongside technical issues such as pitch, rhythm, freedom of movement, and economical choreography of the physical action involved with playing. The musical intent will often inform the choreography and rhythm of a performance and put stress on physical freedom and pitch. To exclude musical intent at slow tempo is incomplete work that leaves a performer vulnerable to unfortunate surprises when they once again begin to play with artistic expression.

5.      In 99% of practicing the violin effectively, the barometer of success is in what one can hear. Vigilant critical listening for all aspects of performance at all times is a pre-requisite for dramatic progress on the violin. Students' listening skills both on the instrument and away from it need to be constantly cultivated.

By stressing the artistic side of playing in technical work, students will be better prepared in terms of habit strength to play the repertoire beautifully. By stressing the technical side of playing in the repertoire students will develop musical performances infused with integrity and technical accuracy. As an added benefit, the work is more likely to be interesting and less tedious when one is working to make musical sounds.

No one would question that students need to be encouraged to play with technical precision and physical freedom, but in truly artistic performances music cannot be a slave to technical issues any more than the technical issues can be ignored in favor of musical ones. ### 

Stefan Hersh   

Stefan Hersh is a violinist who teaches at Roosevelt University's Chicago School of the Performing Arts