The Big Question.

[Richard Prowse]

Okay, I hope I'm not going over well worn ground with this one, but...
There's things about my playing that I'm not happy with. I suspect that the way I play ultimately reflects how I do things or who I am. I'm not trying to be 'deep' here, it's just that when I hear myself recorded, no matter how hard I try, the same old overall sound seems to (re)surface.
I know that there's always room to work on intonation and timing. What I'm trying to get to is the essence of good practice. How can I really practice to lift my standard of playing?
Here's what I know, I'm hoping that someone will have better ideas:

• Long slow bows - listening to tone (pizz. exercises).
• Scales and arpeggios - for fingerboard familiarity, a chance to practise different bowings (or pizz.), listening to intonation.
• Etudes - technically demanding, but achievable.
• Repertoire - working on what is going to be played.

Repitition and thinking will be important parts of any practise session.