The Fastest Way to Learn a Musical Instrument Guaranteed

Do you ever feel that you’re practicing only one or two items and feel guilty for neglecting others?  Most of us have experienced these feelings.  We know we should be more balanced in our practicing–even as we play through the fun music on our practice list. The Musician’s Practice Planner can help you avoid these [...]

In your Musician’s Practice Planner, in addition to the weekly practice plan, it’s important for music students to write down their reward and their risk for meeting the practice goals for the week.  This is an excellent way to create motivation and forward momentum in achieving goals for music lessons and performances. Here’s how it [...]

Making sure students know the exact expectations of their music teachers is one of the top priorities at music lessons.  If a student leaves the lesson unclear on what to do at home, disaster can strike.  At best, their practicing will be unfocused and maybe even nonexistent.  The worst case scenario is they actually practice something [...]

The importance of listening to the music you’re learning cannot be stressed enough.  Knowing how the music is supposed to sound makes the entire learning process easier–and more fun. While many music teachers insist that their students learn only from sheet music (so students improve their sightreading skills and are not influenced by interpretations by other musicians), current [...]

The conversations between music teachers and their students during lessons are valuable for the student.  Teachers give guidance, encouragement, specific strategies, and goals.  Students learn what to do to shape their playing and get clarification on how best to reach their goals. Unfortunately, much of this information is lost forever because it is not written [...]

How much do you remember about your practicing day to day?  If you’re like most musicians, the answer is: Not much. There are two crucial places you need to be writing notes to yourself: in your sheet music and in a practice diary. In your music, you can write out specific techniques that you know [...]

Music students must have a to-do list when they leave their music lessons.  It’s impossible for students to remember everything they’re supposed to be playing, and having a written list is best for most musicians. The practicing to-do list should have three main parts to be effective: 1.  What to practice:  This is the list [...]

Music teachers and music students will achieve more if they understand a truth about how the human brain is hard-wired: We are designed to forget things. That’s right.  Remembering is rare.  Forgetting is normal. Once you come to terms with this reality, everything changes for you.  You won’t be so hard on yourself for forgetting [...]

The Musician’s Practice Planner can be used as a motivational tool to keep musicians on the path of success.  By writing down two key pieces of information, you can use your Practice Planner to clearly guide your achievements. These two are: 1.  How many days you will practice this week. 2.  How long you will practice on each [...]

The Musician’s Practice Planner if often praised for its ability to organize practice sessions and keep music students focused.  There’s another use for this practice notebook that is even more vital: Inspiring musicians. When musicians feel inspired, they are much more likely to practice regularly and stay focused on their aspirations.  They stay calm in [...]