When I think about the truly transformative experiences I've had in my violin playing, it's always been in the summer. Summer festivals and workshops are amazing things. They give you the experience of complete immersion in music. You are around other students who are going through the same thing you are, you don't have homework so you can completely focus on your music, and the right summer program can help you make months of progress in a few weeks.

Summer is a time of great potential for violin playing, and for progress. I know that the students who practiced and had lessons regularly over the summer last year made more progress and are further ahead than the students who took most of the summer away from violin.

There's also something to be said for a nice healthy break from your violin, but for the serious student wanting to make real progress, that break looks more like a long weekend, or a week at the most, rather than an entire summer.

For the serious high school student considering a major in music, a residential summer program can give them a taste of what that life would be like and let them see if it's what they really want to pursue in music. 

Even for a student who just wants to progress in their high school orchestra, summer study is essential. In Northern Virginia, where I live and teach, the school orchestra are incredibly competitive. Just to keep up takes consistent and regular practice, and advancing takes tremendous effort and commitment.

I'm recommending to all of my students that they participate in some sort of summer program this year. It will give them a different experience than just private lessons (although I expect them to have some lessons with me in the summer months), and it opens them up to new ideas and perspectives. For the younger students, I'm recommending family Suzuki camps. There are wonderful Suzuki Institutes where students and families can have private and group lessons, parent sessions, and fun electives like music mind games or fiddle.

For my older students, I'm recommending a practice intensive camp. Especially for those who are in the process of rebuilding fundamental technique or those who want to move to another level quickly, I recommend summer programs which include some form of private study or have very low faculty-to-student ratio. Beware of cheaper programs that may be an orchestra camp with one conductor and 40-50 kids. It's a completely different experience, and I highly recommend the programs with some level of personalized instruction for the most progress.

If you're in the Northern Virginia area, here is the link to Violin Bootcamp, the program my colleagues at Potomac Arts Academy and I are designing. It's going to be a practice and technique intensive workshop, and the goal is for students to make a lot of progress in a short amount of time.

Last year in my studio, I divided my students into four teams - Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow - and assigned points to various activities. Over 10 weeks, I tallied their points at their lessons and watched the motivation spark. Here's the point system:

1 day of practice = 1 point
Reading a music book = 5 points
Completing all bowings for one scale = 10 points
Completing a certain number of etudes = 10 points
Attending a concert which included a live violinist = 10 points

It was wonderful to watch students push themselves to practice more because they knew their points would help their team, to take on extra scales and etudes in order to earn points, to explore the music books for children at their local libraries, and to take part in the rich musical scene in our area.  

Side note: because I know that there are Harry Potter fans in my studio, I'm SHOCKED that not a single person caught onto the fact that this was inspired by the Hogwarts point system. 

The prizes for the challenge winners were as follows: They would have all of their winter break off of practicing scales. They would get to choose a non-curricular song to learn on their violins - possibly for the next recital. AND, I would write a blog post about how wonderful they are.

So, ladies and gentlemen, I give you...THE GREEN TEAM. The Green Team simply dominated this challenge. They were the leaders in points most weeks. They were the most consistent practicers as a team. And they all contributed.

Daniel was an incredibly consistent practicer. He turned in several 7-day practice weeks and remembered to turn in his practice chart each and every week. He completed two scales, and consistently kept the Green Team going.

Ethan eats scales for breakfast. In the 10-week challenge, he completed SEVEN scales, more than anyone else in the competition by far. 

Melody was tied for practicing the most days in the entire challenge - 68 days out of 70 possible. She also read several books for extra points.

Abigail took this challenge to heart. I saw dramatic improvement in the consistency of her practicing from the day the challenge was announced. She and her family attended concerts and she also read several books.

Chiara was the youngest member of this team, at five years old, but she also practiced a consistent 5 or 6 days each and every week and also read a book nearly every week as well.

So there you have it - the Green Team's recipe for success: consistent, focused practice; lots of scales; and lots of books. 

Daniel, Ethan, Melody, Abigail, and Chiara - CONGRATULATIONS!!!!