Violin Basics: How to 'break things down'?

So when you are practicing, do you know what it means to break something down? Well, when I imagine breaking something down, I imagine an upside down pyramid. Okay, I do understand that this approach might appear unorthodox, as usually we start from the bottom and work our way up to the top.

But I believe going from the top to the bottom, like with this pyramid, shows us how to define the problem with greater precision. So why don't I show you how it works with my upside down pyramid? First, we need to identify the goal. To do this, we need to take the time to look at the whole piece.

Doing this will enable us to pinpoint specific problem areas.

Once the areas have been identified, choose one that requires the most attention.

If doing this proves to be too difficult, just pick one.

No matter which one you choose, it will only be helpful.

Now, examine the elements found in the passage and determine what needs to be fixed and how to do it. When doing this, it's important to be precise and not simply say, for example, that we want the passage to be more in tune or say that we need it to be cleaner.

At this point, create a strategy using solutions that could fix the problems found in the passage.

That done, we can now determine how much time we believe it will take to achieve the goal set for the passage. We can create a timeline.

Once the timeline that has been created is completed, it's time to evaluate our progress, see what has happened, see if we have achieved what we set out to do. If necessary, now is the time to make adjustments to the strategy. And don't worry, it's perfectly fine if you don't reach your goal for the passage.

Just evaluate what's happened and make adjustments.

Remember that the process of learning how to play the violin can be just as fulfilling, if not more, than becoming a famous violinist.

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