How to immerse yourself in the violin world - in 7 steps
This blog post accompanies Violin Class Podcast Episode 38. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
They say the best way of learning a language quickly and completely is total immersion— move to the country whose language you want to learn. If you want to learn Spanish, you’d ideally move to Mexico. But what if you can’t just pick up and move?
In that case, you have to create as close of an immersive experience as you can at home. Perhaps you change the language of your phone in Spanish, and you decide to only read Spanish literature. You change the language of Netflix to Spanish, and you start taking weekly Spanish lessons with a tutor. And then as you improve, you start to get interested in Mexican culture and begin cooking some Mexican food at home. You’re not living in Mexico, but its language and culture take an increasing importance your life, and you enjoy learning it immensely.
So how does this relate to learning violin?
Like most amateur violinists, you can’t just hit “pause” in your life and immerse yourself completely in the violin world like a conservatory student would. However, there are many activities and points of study that you can add to your life to enrich your learning.
In this episode of Violin Class, I’m walking you through a day in the life of a violinist in their most intensive stage of learning: a day as a conservatory student.
Between the student’s music history classes, lessons, rehearsals, and performances, we can distill each activity into 7 categories of immersion:
Instruction
Practice
Theory
Listening
Performance
Teaching
Fun/unstructured playing
Then, I go over how we can add elements from each of these categories into your current, busy life.
Creating Your Own Immersive Environment
Instruction
The quickest way to improvement is to have regular, tailored feedback to your playing. Not only will working with a teacher provide accountability in your practicing, they will keep you from learning bad habits and help you make a long-term plan as you learn the instrument.
However, lessons are an investment of both time and money: if regular lessons are not feasible, consider scheduling occasional check-ins with a teacher to receive feedback and make a practice plan.
For more details on this, listen to Violin Class episode 2: 7 tips to get the most out of your violin lessons
Practice
Consistent practice is essential for progress on the violin. Set aside dedicated time each day to practice— little and often is better than long, irregular sessions. Remember, even a few minutes of focused practice will add up over time.
For more ideas on how to structure your practice, listen to Violin Class episode 31: A comprehensive guide to creating a violin scales routine.
Theory
Learning music theory and ear training is essential for any musician, and as an adult learner, you have the advantage of being able to explore these subjects in-depth.
Start by working through a method book and supplementing with YouTube videos to learn music theory.
You can also improve your ear training skills by practicing sight reading and transcribing what you hear.
Listening
Active listening is a powerful tool for improving your intonation and tone production.
Make a habit of listening to violin music every day, both passively in the background and actively by focusing solely on the music.
Attend live classical concerts whenever possible to see violinists perform in person, and make sure to observe how they’re holding themselves, the bow, and the instrument.
To learn more about how to practice active listening properly, listen to Violin Class episode: Using active listening to improve your playing
Performance
Performing in front of others is an important part of improving your playing and gaining valuable feedback, even though it is scary for almost everyone.
Create your own opportunities for opportunities to perform, whether it's in a studio class, for your family and friends, or even just for your pets. You don’t need to be playing a solo recital in a concert hall to be feel nervous, believe me!
Teaching
Teaching others, even if you're a beginner yourself, can deepen your understanding of the violin and improve your own playing. If you’re able to explain a difficult concept to a total beginner, it shows that you really understand it.
Fun/Unstructured playing
It’s easy to forget this part, even if it’s the reason you got in to playing violin in the first place. Make sure to set aside time for unstructured playing, where you can simply enjoy the violin without any specific goals or expectations.
Play something easy, learn a new song from a movie soundtrack, or try a different style of music (bluegrass, Irish fiddle, or jazz manouche are some examples).
By incorporating these seven elements into your daily life, you can create an immersive violin learning experience similar to that of a conservatory student (although with a bit more work-life balance!) While you may not have access to a conservatory environment, with a little creativity and dedication, you can use these tips to help keep you inspired in your practicing.