So.
Practice.
The dreaded time you have to spend with your instrument every day to get better.
The blunt truth is, no one really likes practice. We put up with it because the product is good enough to make all the hours worth it, but the actual time spent playing scales can be very frustrating and tiring.
But don't fret, Cindy is here! These are my personal tips on how long to practice. Enjoy!
This is a tricky question. A lot of people think that if you saw at your violin for forty hours a day, you magically turn into Heifetz. This is not true. In order to do well, you need to practice well. An hour of concentrated practice is so much better than four hours of going through the motions. That being said, "concentrated practice" is not an excuse to play an open A for ten minutes before going on your phone to watch Dan and Phil (which I am very guilty of). If you want me to spoon-feed you the ideal length of practice, I would tell you that it really depends on your age, your level, and what you want to do with your life. As someone who's pretty serious about music but still wants time for a social life and good grades, I practice about an hour of technique, take a short break, then play forty-five minutes of solo and forty-five minutes of orchestra/chamber music, adding up to about two and a half hours a day. If you are younger, practice for less time. If you are older, try a little more practice time. Again, it really depends on how focused you are to get stuff done. But at the end of the day, if you just want to do music as side thing and have no intention of doing anything with it, than there isn't much point to waste three hours when you could do something you are really passionate about.
