Maggie Snyder Viola

Maggie Snyder				Violist & Teacher
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	10 Habits of Highly Effective Practice A Guide for Teachers, Students, and Players 1. Environment – the practice room needs to be clean, neat and not cluttered, a warm atmosphere, and quiet. Avoid interruptions, set ground-rules, and separate it from the everyday. Recommended use of a local college or a separate room and not a multi-use area. 2. Scheduling – Have a set routine for practice during the day. This is easy for you to follow and easier for those around you to follow. Take breaks, don’t attempt to over-commit your time to practice. The rule of 4 – “Four efficient hours a day is best.” - Ivan Galamian The Galamian Hour - 50 play 10 rest Take Time off 3. Goals – Set specific goals with specific deadlines. 4. Break it down – “the curse of reading it through” Level “1” Spots do sections of music 5. Isolate – when problems arise, figure out what is happening, where the problem is and what is causing it. Fix the problem not everything around the problem. Fix it with technique. Then fix it in context. 6. Maintain – Technique is the fundamental on which you base your craft. Maintain it. Like vitamins, do some everyday for optimal health. The Basic Routine- everyday exercises and warm-ups. The Basic Notebook The Basic Schedule A graph for creating a great "Viola Bible" (coming soon to this site) 7. Consistency – (but not boring) – switch it up, have multiple options and do it regularly. If it is consistent and not consistently getting better, you can assess that something isn’t working right. The rule of more – do it more right than wrong 8. Assess – it is important to find ways to see if what you’re doing is working. Perform Regularly Practice Performing Record (risk-free performance; the inner ear vs. the outer ear) Take notes and review your records 9. The Catch 22 Syndrome – do not be afraid; Just practice. Break the cycle. Don't continue with "I don't practice because I don't sound good so I don't practice so I don't sound good which makes me not practice which makes me not sound good...." 10. No Excuses – Just do it; have high expectations; do it right the first time; be reasonable and fair; act slowly and precisely.