4 more tips

1. Change up the venue. If you've been practicing in the same old dark room ever since you were four, change it up! Pick up your your music stand and move it somewhere else. Anywhere. Practice in the kitchen while your mom is making breakfast; in the office; in the living room; even outside. Once I played in Hawaii on the beach at dusk. Sometimes it can feel embarrassing but just picture yourself being the best violinist in the entire world and be confident with the notes you play.

2. Play while standing on your bed. Now, my bed is the top bunk. It puts me high off the ground, which can be a little creepy. But balancing on your mattress at any height while moving your arms to finger and bow makes you a more athletic violinist. I love to see passion and strength and powerful movement in a lot of things: skiing, swimming, soccer, and a violinist's bowing arm.

3. Play a song backwards. It is kind of an exercise for sight reading only it's a song that you know!  

4. Play in front of a dog or a two-year-old (same thing). For one,  you want to try to keep their attention, which is really hard. You want everyone who watches you play to feel attentive and intrigued. Two, dogs and two-year-olds are naturally loud and rambunctious, so it's a good way to practice concentration and avoid being distracted. The minute I took my violin out of its case for my 2-year-old cousin Eli, he yelled, "AWESOME" my entire practice. I gave him my heavy mute to distract him. The next morning I found it under my pillow.


Those are a few that I thought of this week.
LZ