Happy new year!
If you’re like countless other music lovers around the world, you may have made yourself a little bit of a resolution for the dawning 2021: to learn to play an instrument! It’s a wonderful goal to be sure, but regardless of your age, there are likely certain constraints on your time.
Everybody wishes for a few more hours during the day. I could even go for an extra day squished in there somewhere, dedicated just to making music! Just imagine how much practice and progress that could be made!
Unfortunately, we’ve only got the seven days of the week, so if you want to become a skilled musician, you’re going to have to make the time. Lucky for you, we’ve got these 6 top tips to help you find more time for music lessons and practice in the year to come!
Set a Specific Time for Music
In the spirit of finding that extra day for music, try setting a specific and regular time slot for your music practice – every day if you can. Pick a convenient time of day and set yourself a reminder.
It’s best to pick a time that works well with your schedule, and not a time when you’re exhausted after a long day of other activities. In fact, mornings are often a great time to practice because you can get to it before all the little distracting parts of your day begin.
The most important aspect of this bit of advice is, once you’ve set a time you must stick with it! Putting practice aside to take care of “one little thing” is tempting, but if you really want to improve you must form good and strong practicing habits.
Create a Structure
Okay! Now that you’ve got time set aside every day for music, it’s time to make the most of it! First, you’ve got to decide just how long you’re going to practice. Don’t start out by shooting for marathon length practice sessions – you won’t make it, and you’ll probably end up not liking it. Instead, start with a span of time you know you can handle – you can always lengthen your sessions later.
If you are planning on longer sessions, don’t forget to take breaks. The fact is, a simple 5-minute break can help your sessions be even more productive than if you try to power through when you feel restless.
Try dividing your practice sessions into different activities, and use a timer to keep you moving from one task to the next.
Make Goals and Form a Plan
Setting both short- and long-term goals is simply the best way to help you structure both your lessons and your practice sessions. This way you are always learning the skills you need to know to move towards and reach your musical goals.
The best way to start on your journey towards reaching your goals is to simply write them down! Make sure you choose goals that you actually care about – not just stuff your or your teacher thinks you “should” do.
From here you can make sure that each of your practice and lesson sessions are varied. For example, rather than clump all of your music theory together for an hour on a Friday afternoon, try spreading it out with 10 minutes of theory a day, mixed in with regular practice, sight-readying, and/or songwriting.
Recover Lost Time
Aside from the time you specifically set aside every day for your practice and lessons, there may be some other times throughout the day where you are essentially sitting around twiddling your thumbs. Could you use that time for music?
Consider your commute, waiting rooms, checkout lines, etc. Each of these are an opportunity for music just waiting to be seized! So you don’t have your instrument, big deal! Try ear training apps, revising music theory, listening to podcasts about making music, reading tutorials, etc, etc, etc! The possibilities are endless!
Just make sure your phone is ready with your music-learning resources and you’re ready to recover some of that lost time.
Reward Yourself for a Job Well Done
One of the most important things you can do to help maintain your motivation is to reward yourself when you stick to your intentions and move towards a goal. When you stick to your schedule, practice effectively, and make progress towards achieving your goals – go ahead and give yourself a treat!
You don’t have to (and really shouldn’t) wait until you have reached your goal of playing that whole song flawlessly before you reward yourself with a cookie.
Every step that pulls you closer to your goal is worth celebrating! So, go ahead and treat yourself to something nice when you’ve done a good job; you’ll find it helps keep your enthusiasm high as you reach for the next milestone.
Have Some Fun!
If you’re not enjoying your lesson and practice time, then you’re doing something wrong. If you find yourself not having any fun, it may be time to go back to the beginning and ask yourself:
- What are my musical goals?
- How much time can I really dedicate to music each day and week?
Once you have the answers to those two questions you can work back through these tips to get back to getting the most out of every music session. Make your sessions focused and effective, and you’ll find them much more enjoyable. Set goals you’re actually invested in, and every time you pick up your instrument will be a joy!
Once you’re having fun again, you’ll start to see progress again, which is the most enjoyable part of learning to play music!
Hopefully these 6 tips have inspired you to find, and make, more time for music this year! Do you have more tips to share that you use to make time for music? Let us know in the comments!
Want to start your own musical journey? Let the professional instructors at The Music Studio be your guide! With online lessons, anytime is the right time to start! Sign up today!