As an adult beginner, I find myself mulling the hows and whys of my practicing much more than I ever did when I (briefly) studed piano as an 8 year old. As a youngster, I was expected to practice for a certain amount of time (enforced by my parents, usually) and the quality of my practice didn't even enter my mind. 

Now that I am "beginning again" so to speak, my time is limited, I have goals and expectations and all that, and I want my practice time to count (pun only half intended). Unfortunately, being a "grownup" and self aware means that I often end up being hyper-critical and much more easily frustrated than I ever was at 8 (also, much easier to sound bad at the fiddle than the piano. grrr, intonation!).  Recently I came across this very thought provoking, helpful website: http://musicalfossils.com/index.html that I think is just brilliant. Probably I'm not the only one in my situation, so I wanted to share.

The author is a piano teacher but his reflections on practicing in particular are absolutely spot-on relevant (at least for me) to learning and practicing the fiddle (or any instrument probably) as an adult. http://musicalfossils.com/prac.html Now I need to go practice.

A toast to musical fossils here and everywhere!

Adult beginners and returnees are in this way their own worst enemies, imo. Kid-beginners just do what somebody says. I figure they are "waking up" musically and developmentally when they start to say, "But THIS way feels/sounds better." How to practice is a huge part of effective teaching. Not every student, any age, wants to put in the thinking time it takes to develop those sorts of skills for themselves.

Remember always that we do this for the joy of playing. It is good to have goals and expectations but it is not good to suffer for them. Don't let practice become something that you dread or you won't last. Let practice be a welcome respite from the rest of the day. Have fun.

I taught several instruments in my old music store and I encouraged people to keep their instrument handy....(on the wall, on a stand, etc.) and practice in short sessions several times a day rather than a long session. Most people found it less frustrating and definately more productive. It tends to keep the 'fun' level up. And the more fun you're having, the more practice time you'll put in.
I never refered to it as 'practice' either, because it sounds too much like work to a lot of people. I always called it 'playing' instead.

That's some good advice Modon about practicing vs playing... I'm going to start using that "Playing" word...instead of practice...with my kid students. Thanks.
The one thing I caution fiddlers is when your finished "playing" put the instrument back it its case and zip it. Leaving a fiddle on a table, chair, wall hanging is asking for trouble if animals, small kids, vacuum's are around or if someone just does not see the instrument. We have had several instruments into our shop because someone or something knocked it over a counter and damaged the side (cracked) or the top. We just had one come in where the neck popped out because if fell from a chair where it was placed...standing up. Take care of those instruments and when not in use...put them away until the next time you "Play"...see it's already working for me....I'm goin go play now! : >)
Stay tuned. Diane in SoCal

Great site! Some very good information for adult beginners.