The Fastest Way to Learn a Musical Instrument Guaranteed

Most musicians have goals they want to achieve.  From being able to play well to landing a great gig, these goals keep many musicians practicing, rehearsing, and performing.
One interesting aspect of achieving goals is that the path to success is often full of failures.  If you expect the road to be bumpy, it’s easier to keep [...]

Are master musicians born with their skills intact?  Some musicians say it was inevitable that Mozart or Stevie Wonder would rise to the top of their professions.  Others believe musical skills are only acquired through a singular dedication to daily work.
Being born with a certain genetic predisposition toward something (Nature) does seem necessary for certain [...]

I’m a big advocate of efficient practicing for all musicians.  If you want to learn a musical instrument, it’s best to practice slowly, work on muscle memory, break your music into small sections, and stay intensely focused while you’re practicing.
Unfortunately, quality of practice alone won’t make you a master musician.  You need quantity too.  When all is [...]

Many musicians give themselves rewards for meeting and achieving goals.  Getting a reward is a wonderful incentive for achieving your goals.
What do you do if you DON’T meet your goal?  Is there any consequence?  Without a consequence, many musicians don’t have enough of an incentive to truly do what it takes to achieve their goals.
I’ve [...]

Today is the perfect day to set your musical goals for 2010.  It’s important to think about everything you can get accomplished over the next year as you improve your playing, technique, and musicianship.
It’s also important that you make real goals, not just New Year’s resolutions.  As we all know, resolutions (like rules) are made [...]

 
In a recent post, I wrote about the SMART Goals system and how musicians can use this system to achieve their musical goals.
One of the five points in this system is to have Attainable Goals.  When your goals are clearly achievable, forward momentum rushes into your life, pushing you to achieve more and more.  This is [...]

In a fascinating article on why New Year’s resolutions usually fail, authors Dan and Chip Heath give pointers on how to turn resolutions into goals.
What’s the difference between the two?  Goals get met.  Resolutions don’t.
As a practicing musician, you have the power to meet your goals–if you take the right steps to make the goals attainable.
One [...]

In a recent post aimed at helping musicians achieve goals and learn how to practice more effectively, I wrote about the SMART Goal system.
Today’s post focuses on the “T” in SMART.
T is for Time.
A goal without a time limit is just a dream.  You may have a desire to achieve something musically.  But, desire alone [...]

In a recent post aimed at helping musicians achieve goals and learn how to practice more effectively, I wrote about the SMART Goal system.
Today’s post focuses on the “R” in SMART.
R = Risky
According to the SMART Goal system, you need to have an element of risk built into your plans.  Without risk, a goal isn’t [...]

In a recent post aimed at helping musicians achieve goals and learn how to practice more effectively, I wrote about the SMART Goal system.
Today’s post focuses on the “A” in SMART.
A = Attainable.
When goals are put in place, they must be attainable and realistic.  That doesn’t mean that a goal should be easy to reach, [...]