As a musician and lover of learning, I've had some valuable experiences creating learning plans for myself and helping my students do the same. I believe it's an invaluable part of learning any new skill, especially something as challenging and time consuming as music can become. Picking up an instrument is a big commitment, and for many people can seem like a long and tough road to struggle through. The truth is, though, that with a good learning plan and practice structure, it can be a fun and rewarding process.
Step 1: Set a long term goal This seems like an obvious way to start, but many people seem to miss this step in order to just jump right in to learning. This can be harmful in the long run because after a few weeks or months, the learner feels lost and doesn't know where to go with their learning. Setting a long term goal is a great way to stay focused and feel like there is a direction to go. The long term should still be a tangible amount of time, though. For example, setting a 10 year goal for learning the violin seems a little too long term, because who knows where you'll be or what you'll be doing in 10 years. Rather, a 1-3 year goal seems more reasonable. This goal should be as specific as possible, with some room for flexibility. As you start learning, you will get a better idea of how long you goal will actually take to achieve, and you can adjust accordingly. A good goal to start with could be: I want to be able to play five songs comfortably (not perfectly!) in a jam session after one year of learning the fiddle. After setting this goal, and starting your learning, you will get a better feel for exactly how comfortably you will be playing in a year. Step 2: Fill in some short term goals Once you have your overall goal set, a great thing to do next is fill in some short term goals throughout the long term timeline. If I use our one year fiddle timeline from before, maybe I can set goals for when I want to learn my first song, or when I want to attend my first jam session. The best way to do this is to identify some important aspects of the overall goal, and find some smaller, more achievable things to achieve leading up to the big goal. It's also important to set a time frame for these smaller goals, in order to stay on track. A good example would be: I will start learning fiddle in January, and my goal is to learn my first song by the middle of March, and go to my first jam session by the beginning of June. Step 3: Find recourses Once you have a rough plan and timeline written out, it's important to do a little bit of research and figure out how you will make this happen. Of course, this will all depend on your prior experience, current level, and goal. One thing I always recommend is to get a teacher. Not only that, but communicating your goals and timelines to the teacher will help them help you. It's also important to find some online, self study resources, like lesson videos, play along tracks, etc. which can help you explore the music that you're learning and not rely totally on your teacher. But, remember to not go too crazy with the online resources. Make sure that every website or YouTube channel you find should directly relate to your goal and help you achieve it. Keeping this is mind should help you only pick out the most useful resources. Step 4: Enjoy yourself! This might seem like an extraneous step, but I find it pivotal in my learning process. Our brains work better and take in more information when we are relaxed and comfortable, so make sure you are letting yourself enjoy the process and not stressing about it. When putting together your music learning plan, make sure that it is intense enough that you feel and see your constant progress, but don't go too overboard. This could lead to you not enjoying it as much, which would actually become a detriment to your learning overall. Remember to constantly check in with yourself and ask if you are enjoying the process. If your not, don't panic! It doesn't necessarily mean that the subject isn't for you, or it isn't meant to be. There's a good chance you only need to make a small adjustment in your learning plan. That could mean finding a new teacher, slowing down or speeding up your learning, or changing up your resources. Whatever it is, do your best to find it and change it, because that will improve your experience greatly and probably lead to you completing your goal!
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Alani SugarAlani Sugar is a young fiddle and mandolin player from Maryland. She has been involved in the region's music scene since she was 15 years old, and has the attention of musicians and music lovers alike in the area. She currently works as a professional musician and teaches fiddle and mandolin lessons online via Skype Archives
January 2024
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