How much violin practice is enough for the goals you have? How much should you practice daily on your level?
Video content
01:56 Quality of your violin practice 05:52 10-20 minutes of violin practice 06:44 20-40 minutes 07:36 1 hour of violin practice a day 09:21 2-4 hours 10:27 5+ hours a day
10-20 minutes of violin practice a day
This is suitable for very young beginners (under six) who don't have much of a concentration span yet and have to get used to the instruments.
Combine this with general music education, for example according to Music Learning Theory. Consider a book like Music Play.
20-40 minutes
Great for beginners. You can even consider to split this up into two sessions of 20 minutes, so you're refreshed. In my studio I noticed 'more than 30 minutes' makes a big difference.
1 hour of violin practice a day
This is really the minimum you need when you want to maintain your current level and want to improve in the long run.
Very young children or adults with some physical challenges should practice less or divide up the hour into two or three chunks divided over the day.
FREE Violin Scale Book
Sensational Scales is a 85 page violin scale book that goes from simple beginner scales with finger charts all the way to all three octave scales and arpeggios
2-4 hours a day
Great to get good progress on your instrument. You can do scales, exercises and etudes and have enough time to work on your repertoire and orchestra scores.
Lots of great concert violinists, like Janine Jansen don't practice more than 2 hours a day, but please note that they probably don't count concert and rehearsals as 'practice time'. Their 'play time' is probably longer.
5+ hours a day
Heifetz, probably the best violinist who ever lived, practiced no more than 3 hours a day and said excessive practice is just as bad as practicing too little.
Average conservatory students practice 2 to 4 hours a day. Often they say they practice more of course ;).
When you want to practice over 5 hours a day, make sure you are doing quality practice and not just 'making as many hours as possible'. Take enough breaks and keep an eye on your body to prevent injury.
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