In this video, world-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman shares his expert advice on how to practice effectively and deal with performance anxiety.

Here is a summary of his key points:

On Practice Duration

• Don’t over-practice: Contrary to the belief that “more is better,” Perlman advises against practicing for more than 4 to 5 hours a day. He personally found 3 hours sufficient [00:21].
• Diminishing returns: Practicing beyond this limit is often useless as the body stops absorbing information, and it can even lead to physical injury [00:40].

On Practice Method

• Quality over quantity: It is better to practice “with your head” for two hours than to practice mindlessly for eight. You must have an agenda and know exactly why you are practicing [01:12].
• Go slowly: Patience is essential. You should practice slowly and in small sections [01:26].
• Don’t repeat mistakes: Listen carefully to what you are doing. If you repeatedly play a passage out of tune, you are actually practicing to play it out of tune [01:41].
• Be patient with progress: Improvement isn’t always linear. Something might sound great on Monday but worse on Tuesday. Don’t give up; just keep practicing slowly, and it will improve over time [02:13].

On Nerves

• Familiarity is key: You cannot completely get rid of nerves. Instead, you should aim to be “familiar” with them [02:39].
• Know your reaction: Everyone reacts differently to nerves (e.g., shaking, playing too inwardly). By knowing how your body reacts, you can prepare to deal with it when it happens on stage [03:06].

[Video summary assisted by AI.]