New Years Resolutions Can Be Musical Too!
Happy New Year!
As the clock hit 11:59 PM on New Year’s Eve, I was panicking to come up with an answer to the inevitable question “What is your New Year’s resolution?” that would soon be bombarding me from all sides. The obvious few quickly ran through my head: “Work out more, eat healthily, learn a new skill”- we all know these resolutions well! With the seconds ticking down, I thought to myself- instead of learning a new skill, how about I focus on one I’ve been working on for years?
As someone who has spent the last 17-ish years playing, studying, and performing on the French Horn, it is often easy to forget that there is always room to improve and grow as a musician. Setting big goals can be extremely motivational, but we must also remember that small goals will help us stay motivated down the musical path, and will continue to reap us small rewards, which will come in handy when the journey gets difficult.
So as we all look forward to 2020, here are 20 resolutions that I think will be great for musicians of any level:
- Dedicate some time to practicing every day (obvious- but crucial!)
- Take an audition (local musical program, school play, summer festival, or even a professional group)
- Learn a new solo piece
- Start a chamber group with friends
- Go watch your favorite ensemble perform live
- Record yourself playing or singing your favorite piece of music
- Learn all of your scales
- Take a lesson with a musical idol
- Clean your instrument (no, seriously- snake out that lead pipe!)
- Volunteer to sing in your local church’s choir
- Find an awesome CD that inspires you
- Take care of your body (stretch, drink a warm cup of tea, don’t overwork yourself during practice sessions)
- Practice your site-reading and solfege skills
- Say YES to something that scares you (a new gig, a big performance, etc.)
- Show your younger sibling how to play Hot Cross Buns on the piano
- Try to improvise alongside your favorite jazz track
- Compose your own piece of music
- Challenge yourself to learn a new etude each week
- Teach yourself to read sheet music
- Have FUN. You started down your musical path because you enjoyed it, right?!
This is only a small list of musical resolutions that you can try out this coming year. Mix-and-match some of the smaller goals, or focus on one or two big ones! Are we missing any good resolutions? Share yours with us, and perhaps you can inspire someone too!
