how to get motivated and set practice goals (during coronapause)

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life is completely different now. i've been hearing from a lot of people how this new style of life is affecting their practicing. so, i'm really excited to teach you guys how to practice, and over the next few weeks i'm going to put my money where my mouth is and follow my own advice.

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[sofiavillarreal]

My biggest issue with practicing is that I have a lot of things I want to practice for myself and things I need to practice for school. Finding a balance and still getting everything done is what I struggle with most.

[quickfixtips]

Hi Rob. I really love the videos you’re producing. My issue is that when I retired from teaching and giving lessons at Albion College, I had little motivation to practice. The few gigs I got kept the horn on my face infrequently. Now that I’m house bound, I have a “To Do” list. Practicing is at the top of my list and I never scratch it off because I need to do it every day. My chops really atrophied so I’m working on just regaining my range and endurance. Once that is where I want it, I will get started on some solo (and an Ewazen trio) works I never had time for before. I actually find this time refreshing in that I don’t feel the pressure of an impending gig. I can work at a leisurely pace.

[patriceofficial]

My biggest issue with practicing is that I finally feel like I have a hold on all the things I have to get done, and then I eventually get bored and stop wanting to practice them, so my productivity decreases a drastic amount because I can't find anything else to fix.

[PosauneundPapier]

I’m a high school senior who just finished auditioning at six colleges. I did an immense amount of work, as well as maintain a ton of extra ensembles. After the auditions, I was planning on finally “having fun” for once, while also maintaining a functioning practice schedule which would be less hectic. Now that the virus is being spread around, I can’t go anywhere, or do anything outside of my own home, which is an extreme letdown. Not to meantion all my trips and concerts are canceled.

This contrast in atmosphere and motivation from really fast to unbelievable slow is really hard to deal with. I almost want to take a prolonged break, although, I am unsure if this is appropriate.

[wouterwillemsperc]

My issue at the moment is that back at the Conservatory, I could play for 6 hours every day but now back at home I struggle to even get 3-4 hours in. I miss those small talks with my other students of like 10 min to get my mind clear. Now when I take a break from practice, I am all alone with no one to talk to. And my parents are not musicians so I can't talk to them about my work. Really frustrating.

[cindycui]

currently i struggle with fixation - fixation on little tiny details that i just can't get. this fixation leads to mindless repetition, which doesn't help much, and by the time i come to my senses again, half an hour has gone by and i've focused on 2 or 3 notes/chords...then this throws me off track of my schedule and i feel defeated and unmotivated to start practicing again because "i have to fix those 3 they must be perfect before i move on!!!!"

[ashleymiley]

When it comes to organizing my practice, I struggle with being able to stick to the plan/staying on track. That comes from 1) Having unexpected things come up where I need to reprioritize and 2) Overestimating what I'm able to really get done well in a day--- being able to prioritize while reminding myself that it's a long haul game. In the everyday life and now, it feels like there is never enough time for the endless list of things I could/should/want to be working on. And when you think about winning a job, I still sometimes believe that I have to be at a level of pure perfection. It becomes more challenging to prioritize because you feel like everything is just as important if it needs to be perfect.

As a perfectionist, I've been reminding myself that we are always going to be learning as a musician and that I need to play at my best level right now rather than where I'll be in 5-10 years. So I've asking myself, "What are the two-three things I could focus on in my playing that could drastically change my playing right now?" I'm excited now to dig into those things with this time and your video gave me some direction on how to break it down even further!

[izzydrums]

Awesome video! I feel for me I tend to noodle around when I'm practicing like play melodys rather than learn a piece. Since I'm in a community college, there's a lot of things to practice so I get overwhelmed with what to do in a given day.

[twpagetw]

I am maintaining a repertoire of about 16 (average of 5 minute) pieces as well as learning new ones. I have and use a practice schedule to maintain my repertoire and work on learning new pieces. It tells me what piece to work on; but what I lack is any system of writing down during and after a practice session what detail I figured out and therefore what I should return to the next time that piece comes up on the practice schedule (a one to three days later).

[leocai]

thanks a lot this might save my life during this period....

[gordonvolquardsen]

Hi Rob,
I am currently preparing for Music University to become an Music Teacher and I sometimes don't know how to set priorities on what I should Prepare right now...they're some many things to do....(Marimba Piece, Snare Piece, Timpani Piece, Piano Pieces etc....)
And also I am really struggeling with staying focused during practicing certain Excerps.
I would be really happy if you a Video about these Topics :)
Greetings from Germany!

[danielnunez]

Hi Rob! I think my biggest issue is that i know i should practice things that i'm not good at, but i feel that if i use all the time practicing new stuff and i stop practicing what i already know, i wont be able to be good at none of them.

[kristenshinermcguire]

Thank you!! So helpful for me - an, in turn, for my students! Sending to them and some fellow teachers at Nazareth College School of Music :)

[carlossantiago]

Hello, my problem is I doubt about my goals. I start my schedule and after 2 or 3 days question if the goal I’m working on is worth it, or if I should be studying something else. This happens with goals I came out with, is different when I’m with a teacher.

[henrywu]

Not every percussionist have a marimba at home, how should I keep up my mallets skills or learn a new piece without an instrument?

[vittoriaecclesia]

Thanks for the video!
This is really a hard time. I feel like "oh, I can finally learn the concert-etudes!", or "this is the perfect time to practice all those unusual orchestral excerpts", or even "well, I can definitely prepare my Master recital without external pressure now". And then I warm up, do a lot of technique and etudes, and when it comes to repertoire I barely keep up with my Master recital stuff, and only because I know that eventually, I will have to do it. I don't understand why in Conservatory I can pull off 5 hours of practice, although not every day, and here at home I feel drained if I do a 2.5. I do have a small practice journal where I put small goals every day, but either my goals are not interesting enough, or I am too kind with myself and put too few, or too easy, I feel like I'm not productive as I could be. After seeing this video, I will try to perfect my goals, like maybe dividing them in pre goals (repertoire, excerpts, bigger things), and then subdivide them in smaller things per day to accomplish, instead of being like "practice that piece with metronome".

[isaiahvanburen]

For me its having to much content to practice and prioritizing that content. Before the outbreak, I was preparing for my hour recital and was feeling a bit overwhelmed with the sheer amount of music I had to work on day to day.

[草葉っぱ-bn]

Definitely this video is for me, kaz I have free time muuuuch longer than usual, that all of concerts are called off for few months by corona virus in Japan😢 So, its time to practice hard! init

[AirenFortunato]

I struggle deciding what I should work on. Should I work on rudiments? How about this audition packet? Maybe some 4 mallet technique? Sure, I'll work an etude. I end up splitting my focus on different things and don't know how to keep track of what I should practice.

[zachhodgson]

I am currently struggling with, what do I work on, and is it worth the time investment. With so many options I try to pick balance them at certain times to work technique, but I feel like I'm not utilizing my time to work on rep that would be beneficial in the future. With so much available rep, how do I choose and what are the pieces or excerpts that are good to know?