Strive To Become A Better Musician (Reconnect With Your Love For Making Music)
Nov 09, 2024
How consistently have you strived to become a better musician, since the moment you first started?
This is a powerful question – and one I've been reflecting on – a lot – recently.
Answering this question has been painful, yet enlightening for me. What about you?
When I look at the large blocks of time I've spent disconnected from my dreams and ambitions (months, and even years at a time), it feels very uncomfortable. Regrettable, in fact.
For much of the time:
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I didn't work towards meaningful goals, and so my focus was scattered
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I didn't maintain a consistent music-making habit. Instead I worked intensely for short blocks of time (when I was feeling motivated) and then remained inactive for (very) long periods of time
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I didn't commit to making improvement a way of life, and so I didn't grow
Coming to these honest realisations has lit a fire in my belly. It has caused me to make changes. It has caused me to recommit to becoming the best musician I can be.
I've fallen in love with music again.
In this article I'm going to share the steps I'm taking to connect more deeply with my music-making practice. Steps that you can take too, if you so desire.
But first, let's think about a helpful way to frame this discussion.
Regret Vs. Resolution
"Have no regrets."
You hear this all the time. But if you're honest – I bet you have things that you regret doing, or not doing. I certainly do. I think most people do.
Ideally, we don't want to have regrets. But, if you're like most people and you do have them, you can choose how to respond to them.
It's important to be compassionate to your past-self. If you're not happy with elements of your past, then you can use this energy to direct your present-self.
So rather than beating myself up about my inconsistent approach to music-making, I've decided to use my regrets to my advantage. More specifically, I'm using my regrets to build resolve.
Resolve to recommit. Resolve to improve. Resolve to invest time into the things that are meaningful to me.
In fact, I'm deeply grateful that I've had the awareness to actually feel the regret. The regret is a signal. A signal that music is important to me – an integral part of my nature.
If your situation is similar to mine – and you now realise that you haven't been investing your time, attention, and energy into your musical development – I invite you to welcome these emotions.
See them as your guide. Your guide to recommitting.
You can make a plan. You can take action on it. You can start today.
How To Recommit To Your Music Practice
1) Awareness
Like most things in life, awareness is the first step.
I'm assuming that you've read up to this point because you resonate with my situation and want to make productive changes to your own approach to music, going forward.
For me, the emotional discomfort of knowing that I could have achieved more by this point is what made me become aware of wanting to make changes.
Check in with your own feelings about your music making practice. Be honest with yourself. Are you ready for change. Do you desire more?
2) Decide What You Really Want
What is your vision? Who do you want to become? What do you dream of being able to do as a musician? No two musicians' paths are the same – this is personal.
For me, at this stage of my journey, composing original music for piano is what is calling me the loudest. I want to become a prolific composer and build a large body of compositions, record them, and release them.
I'm not sure whether I'll set up my own label and self-release, or go down the traditional route of signing to an established label. (This is a conversation for a different time!)
Get clear on what you want to get good at. Really good at.
3) Set Goals Aligned To Your Vision
Setting goals is important. If your vision determines where you're going, your goals determine the path you take.
Your goals need to be aligned to your vision. Said another way, your vision must dictate your goals.
This will ensure that every action you take contributes directly to the successful realisation of your vision.
You can think of each goal accomplished as a milestone on your journey of becoming the musician you want to be.
Since I am in the early stages of reconnecting with my piano playing and composing journey, my only goal at the moment is to play every day and journal my insights after each session – a process-based goal. (The purpose of this is to build momentum.)
My plan is to set some specific outcome-based goals, ready to work on next year.
4) Take Consistent Action
Once you know who you want to become, what you want to be able to do, and what goals will help you achieve your desired reality, it's time to get to work.
After years of neglecting making music on a consistent basis, I now deeply believe that connecting with music on a daily basis is the most effective approach to making and maintaining progress.
At the heart of progress lies momentum. At the heart of momentum lies consistency. At the heart of consistency lies a daily habit – a music-making habit, in our case.
If you love music, why wouldn't you do it every day? You are in control of what you choose to do with your time.
Love your craft – show up for it every day.
5) Review Your Progress & Make Adjustments
When I've set goals and worked towards their achievement in the past, I learnt the importance of ongoing reflection.
Reflection helps you make sure you're keeping on track, and keeping on the optimal track.
Remember your vision. Who are you becoming? What do you want to be able to do? Are your goals helping you become the person capable of achieving these things?
Sometimes you might set music goals and work towards them, only to later realise that there's a more direct path to becoming the musician you want to be. This is great. This was not time wasted. This is feedback.
Use this feedback to set new goals that align more directly with your vision. Always review your progress and be willing to make course corrections along the way.
Taking the 5 steps above will help you reconnect with your love for music-making.
Remember:
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Strive to stay consistent.
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Strive to achieve your goals.
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Strive to become the musician you know you can be.
Music Will Welcome You Back
Since re-establishing a clear vision for myself as a musician, I feel energised.
And returning to a consistent (and daily) music practice feels empowering.
Life suddenly feels calm.
In the past, I've been inconsistent and neglected Music for long periods of time.
But Music has welcomed me back – with both arms wide open, and a knowing smile.
We're glad to be back together again.
I wish the same for you too.
