Sticking to Your Musical Goals in 2022
We all know the deal. The new year comes around and we start setting a million goals only to fail in the first month. I promise you that this post will indeed be uplifting! Statistically, most new year goals or resolutions go uncompleted. Let me start out by saying that even in light of these stats, it is still a good thing to set new year goals. In today’s post, we will be talking about how you can be sticking to your musical goals in 2022.
Anyone that knows me, knows that I love setting goals. Even more than setting goals, I love to complete them. I know that may seem contradictory to my first statements, but I promise that we will get through this together.
Setting Realistic Goals
The main reason for goal failure is the setting of unrealistic goals. The second reason is setting too many goals. Although I can’t give you advice about your fitness, financial or reading goals, I can however, share with you some of my tested and tried secrets to setting great musical goals for the year. This is the same process whether the goals are for you or your kids.
Let’s begin!
Great Music Goals
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- What areas do I need most work in?
- What is a piece of music that is challenging, but not frustratingly out of my skill level?
- What days of the week and times will be most realistic to maintain steady practice?
- What can I do to stay accountable?
What makes a good musical goal? Before setting any goal, you need to assess where you are currently with your musical skills. Are you an absolute beginner? Have you been playing for a while? Are you seemingly stuck in the same place for some time?
Once you figure this out, you can set a first goal that is in line with your current skill level. Perhaps you can play some simple melodies but your sight reading needs improvement. However, if this is the case, then you can set a goal of practicing 15 minutes of sight reading, 3 times a week. That is both a realistic goal and also one that gets you better in a skill that you need.
If you wind up practicing more, great! But the best strategy is coming up with an amount of practice that is both doable and able to be maintained consistently.
A second tip would be finding a piece of music to work on that is challenging, yet doable, like this easy version of Greensleeves. I can’t tell you the amount of people that try music that is way too hard for their level, only to be left discouraged when it feels like forever for them to play it. There is a ton of great repertoire that will challenge you without being frustrating.
More Tips for Setting Goals
The third tip would be set specific times to practice. Leaving it up to chance usually ends up with missed weeks of practicing. Life has a funny habit of getting hectic and if you don’t plan for practice time, there’s usually a million thing that pop up. Set a day and time and stick to it.
Finally, my last tip is to stay accountable. There are a couple of ways to do this. The first is to stay accountable to someone. Let someone know that you’re practicing a piece of music and you want to show it to them when it’s ready. This adds a sense of urgency and purpose. You can also sign up for a performance in your local area. Open mics are a great place to share what you’ve learned with those around you. And performing is fun!
Conclusion
In conclusion, sticking to your musical goals in 2022 will be v very similar to sticking to any goals this year: break them down into manageable and realistic mini-goals.
Remember to stay accountable by sharing your goals with those around you and participating in any performances when you can.
If you need inspiration for your kids music journey, click here.
Photo by cottonbro from Pexels
