Goal Setting for Musicians Part I
From the Series:
Playing in the Mental Key
Ellistrations Music Apparel and Gifts
Imagine if you will, that you are on a trip and you are traveling on foot. On this journey, you take along all of the provisions that you need; you packed up a certain amount of food, and water and put shoes on your feet of course, clothe yourself. You carry maps, and a compass and even an inventory of everything that you will need. You have also prepared yourself physically for this by walking every single day and even running. Wow, you are totally ready for this trip and you stick your chest out with pride, as you head out the door and down the street. This is going to be the most awesome excursion that you have ever taken in your entire life……NOT !!!
You forgot one simple element! Even though you took everything that you needed and you prepared yourself for this event, YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHERE YOU ARE GOING!!! Now, I know at this point that you are probably saying,” Well, duh, I knew he was gonna say that.” However, I can guarantee that you are among the 95% of the musicians out there that have not defined any goals or objectives for themselves.
I have known musicians that buy the best instruction books, the finest instruments and have access to the greatest educational services in the world, but have not grown one single bit!!!
If you don’t have a target or an objective, how do you know where you are going? How can you measure your success on your instrument or even tell if you are growing as a musician? I have known musicians (and business people for that matter) that buy the best books, instruments and have access to the best educational services in the world, but have not grown one single bit!
It is a strange dichotomy that we expect these qualities from our politicians and leadership in America, yet the majority of us do not set goals ourselves. Can you imagine what success you would have as a musician if you had an actual plan for yourself? Have you wondered why some people effortlessly master their craft and music while others seem to flounder and loose interest in what they are doing?
Well, wonder no more! The reason you are not motivated to practice or improve your musicianship is because you do not have a target or goal in the first place. By placing a goal in front of yourself and a definite time limit, you are not only greatly increasing your chances of success, but you are creating motivation.
Motivation is basically the desire to do what you need to improve (practice). So, in reality, both goal setting and motivation are essential elements that create the necessary desire to improve.
As you may have noticed in the first paragraph, that without a sense of direction you are really in big trouble. So easily, the first thing you have to decide upon as a musician is which direction that you want to go. Do you want to learn how to perform jazz improvisation? How about developing a better range or tone on your instrument? Would you like to be the first chair flutist in your school or play in a major orchestra?
The very first thing you absolutely must do to begin your journey is DECIDE WHERE YOU ARE GOING!!!
Assignment: This week take some time to sit down, think and ponder what do you really want to get out of music. You may want to take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to think about it. Take out a piece of paper and write out as many goals as you can. Get real serious and aggressive about this. When you have a list, put the letter “A” next to the goal that is most important to you. After you have done that, you can place a “B” next to the next most important goal and so on down the list until you have listed those musical goals that you want to accomplish. For now, we will focus on the letter “A” goal because we want to focus on one thing at a time.
After you are finished with this assignment, pat yourself on the back because you have just done something that 95% of the musicians out in the world have not done….SET A GOAL!!!
Next Week
How to set attainable goals and actually improve your musicianship in just a few weeks!!!
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