New Year’s Resolutions For Young Musicians

Good evening, readers!  Happy New Year to you all!  In keeping with this holiday that is so much about reflection and renewal, speculation and self-improvement, I thought it made sense to make a list of resolutions that every young musician should consider adopting.  It should be said that these wouldn’t be half bad habits for more seasoned musicians or even professionals because it’s never a bad time to pick up better habits, but I’ll try to tailor this to the student musicians.  Having taught for more years than we will ever admit (wouldn’t want you all to start guessing our ages), we have drawn no small number of conclusions about student habits, whether related to practice or performance.  So here are our “imposed” resolutions for all of you trying to climb the proverbial mountain toward musical mastery (is there even such a thing as true mastery when it comes to music?  We will save that topic for a future entry!).  Discipline must be attained in “baby steps,” so you can take your first one by simply reading on:

*Practice no matter what.  Understand that quality is infinitely more important than quantity when it comes to a practice routine.  Students often feel that if they only have ten minutes available on a certain day, there isn’t a point in bothering.  Not true at all.  What is of vital importance is the repetition of daily practice and the quality of practice with no distractions and with the intent to improve a specific technique.

*Over-prepare!  Good enough is rarely good enough.  Whether its an audition, a performance, or a proficiency exam, it is important to go beyond the status quo in terms of preparation.  Don’t do what will get you by – do what will make you unflappable.  Remember that nerves often kick in at the moment of truth and a mediocre level of preparation will be exposed in those moments.  We often tell our students that once they feel they finally have it in their grasp, that is not when practice ends, but rather when it begins!  Amateurs do it until they get it right, but professionals do it until they can’t possibly get it wrong.

*Have a plan.  The difference between a dream and a goal is that the latter comes with a plan of action.  Music can be a lot of fun, and sometimes that makes youngsters think it’s all a good time and that they will somehow tumble aimlessly into greatness, which is rarely the case.  Know what you want to accomplish, what steps you are going to take to accomplish it, and create a realistic timeline for where you are going and how you are going to get there.  It is a wise idea to have a teacher you work with regularly (but only if they’re the right teacher) because they offer not only expert instruction and training, but also and equally important, accountability.

*If you’re on time…you’re late.  So don’t be!  Get to every rehearsal, every class, every gig, every everything 10 minutes early.  In an industry where tardiness is sadly the norm, you can gain a competitive advantage over your competition simply by showing up early and being ready to go.  The other guy or girl isn’t gonna, so that is a pretty simple way to get noticed.

*Never be a borrower.  Take your materials with you.  Don’t forget them or lose them.  In fact, bring extras if you have them!  You know you need two instrument cables and one microphone cable for a school show?  Take four instrument cables and two microphone cables!  Actually while you’re at it, take your own microphone…JUST IN CASE.  Stuff happens.  Things break and stop working and a hundred other things go wrong, and we’ve lived them all!  So throw as much as you can fit into a bag and take it with you.  Bring a pencil too – always.  Don’t depend on others, but instead be the one others depend on.

*Work on what you’re bad at, not what you’re good at.  It’s human nature for us all to want to repeat the tasks that make us feel good about ourselves.  Our egos have insatiable appetites, and they want the instant gratification that accompanies success.  Failure is no fun, but it is a necessary step toward accomplishment.  Once you understand, you can begin to force yourself to do over and over that which you find difficult, even though your natural inclination might be to repeat what you already know how to do well.  It is that single fact, I believe, that keeps most of the population from becoming truly great at something.  Millions of people will say how much they wish they could play an instrument or sing proficiently, yet few can.  It is because when they had to work at doing something that starved rather than fed their egos, they packed their bags for greener pastures.  But not you!  You can choose to favor the mind over the matter, the spirit over the ego, the insight over the excuses.

I bet we could come up with a couple or fifty more resolutions to force on you, but this list should serve as a sufficient beginning for any aspiring young artist.  Bookmark this article, and refer to it as often as needed – it will serve you well.  And we wish you well…