Frequently Asked Questions
These are some of the questions I receive the most. If you have one that isn’t here, feel free to send a message through the button at the bottom.
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Can I really get any good with just 5 minutes?
Yes! The most important part of violin is the muscle memory skills. These are the most elusive for leaners. And they can be built in 5 minutes a day. Most people out there miss building these because they practice too much music and advance too quickly to get the base skills drilled in.
You’ll find that it sometimes takes more than 5 minutes worth of repetition to memorize tunes. But this is the fun part. Hopefully you’ll like the tune enough to be interested to spend some extra time drilling and putting it together on some evenings or weekends. This should be relaxing and never rushed or pressured.
There’s no deadline to get certain tunes or skills “down” because repetition is built into the program.
What if I don't read sheet music?
That’s actually a good thing. It helps to play mostly by ear when you’re learning violin because there’s plenty to think about without looking at a sheet. Plus, when the eyes open the ears close.
I’ll share sheet music and tab for those who enjoy it. Bit by bit the exposure will add up and you’ll start to know what you’re looking at. Then in the Pachelbel’s project portion of YVY I’ll explain how to read sheet music in case you’re interested.
But you don’t have to learn to read sheet music to learn violin! So that is totally optional.
If you’re a visual learner, it could help to keep a notebook and take a little extra time during tune learning videos to write your own reminder notes. You can just list which finger on which string. It will make your 5 minute video take 8-10 minutes, but it’s a worthwhile exercise to write music out in your own language that makes sense to you.
This is just as a guide until you get the music memorized.
Can I get the sheet music at the beginning of the project please? I'm a visual learner.
I share the sheet music for each piece after you’ve had a chance to try all the skills without the hindrance and distraction of sheet music.
This is a tough one for me to stick to, because I want you to have everything you wish for. But it contradicts my method to share sheet music at the beginning of a project. I’ve experimented with it due to violinists begging me for the sheet early. And every time it’s been detrimental to the skills development of the violinist, so I don’t do it anymore.
Sheet music allows you to play a piece sooner, but it often sends you to old habits to get the job done. And we all know how it makes memorization more work later.
I do share the sheet music, so visual learners will have a chance to look at it. Meanwhile if you ever need a visual of what you learned that day, please take a few minutes to jot down some notes for yourself. This is much more beneficial than looking at the whole sheet because you get to process the info first from movement and sound and then into the visual that works for you.
Since music and violin playing is movement and sound and can’t actually live on the paper, this keeps you closer to the music.
Plus it keeps things more bite sized which will make your skills progress way faster.
What if I miss a day (or 12...)?
Don’t worry or stress about it! And I don’t recommend trying to “catch up” or “make up for lost time.” Just hop back on the horse and start back with your next 5 minute practice. It’s much better to practice 5 minutes a day consistently than it is to cram with 2 hours of practice on a weekend.
If you need to go on vacation don’t worry about that either. Just pick up where you left off and resume your 5 minutes a day. Many players find they have mysteriously gotten better when they return from a break.
Can I work at a faster pace than one video per day?
Feel free to experiment and find the pace that works best for you! Just know, if you start to get frustrated that skills aren’t developing, it could be that you’re overstimulating yourself each day. The brain sometimes finds it easier to make a firm pathway when you practice fewer new things per day. So if it starts to feel like things just aren’t sticking, you could then slow it down to a smaller bite each day.
Violin progress is like steering a cruise ship not a scooter. The direction changes gradually and not on a dime. So it’s no problem to experiment and just correct course as needed.
What if I've completed a tune project and I still don't play the tune super well yet? Is it okay to go on?
To learn violin you have to let things go that aren’t completely finished and move on. It’s just the nature of it. It takes some time for the brain pathways to develop. Don’t worry. Move on to the next piece to keep yourself from getting bored. Then when we come back to review the old piece you’ll be better at it and can get it closer to sounding “finished.”