| Tips for Keeping Musically Motivated |
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Tom Williams writes about avoiding the urge to assault a perfectly innocent musical instrument. Most people would agree you can have too much of a good thing. Amateur musicians are certainly no exception to this adage. In fact, when it comes to playing a musical instrument, amateur musicians tend to experience a more extreme version of ‘too much of a good thing’. Making music isn’t just a ‘good thing’. It’s our ‘raison d'être’– not just because we love doing it - and this is a key point, but also because we understand the more often we play, the better we play and every amateur musician longs to be a better player. This potent combination of having fun while, at the same time, improving our playing is the essence of our motivation. It’s what drives us to practice long and hard learning what can be tricky techniques which can often only be mastered by laborious repetition.  Ironically, that almost constant desire to play can be an amateur musician’s undoing. It makes us very susceptible to overdoing things. Early indications that we are not getting out of the bargain quite what we are putting in include a sense of frustration and annoyance rapidly developing into expressed anger, resentment and self loathing (‘For God’s sake, I’m completely useless!’) culminating in tantrums and blind fury. Physical abuse of an instrument is not uncommon at this stage (bloody thing!). It’s amazing how quickly third parties such as teachers, colleagues, parents, children, spouses etc. can recognise the initial onset of this downward spiral of behaviour (and make themselves scarce) and yet the player usually remains oblivious. Triggers are many, from failing to perfect a new piece to simply forgetting how to play perfectly one we thought we had long committed to memory. What results from this sorry state of affairs is an almost total loss of motivation, a temporary crisis for the seasoned player maybe. Although better avoided altogether it’s something that should pass over in a couple of days. However, for a beginner this scenario could be disastrous leading to complete disenchantment and ultimately failure. So, what steps can we make to try to avoid losing patience with our chosen musical instrument, what many of us think of as an extra body part? Here’s a few ideas designed to keep you keen and fresh. Know when to walk away. This universal old favourite sounds so obvious and yet is such a difficult technique to master. We’ve all been there, especially those who are adult learners - we stubbornly insist on playing a piece over and over again until we stop making mistakes quite adamant that the next attempt will be successful. Most practising at amateur level loses its value after a defined time period. The time period will vary from person to person depending on numerous factors some as fundamental as our age and experience but it’s very likely to be between 20 - 60 minutes. It’s no coincidence that music lessons come in 30 minute slots. The key is to identify your optimum window for practice and stick to that time period, especially if it’s not going well. Practice for 15 minutes beyond your peak and you’ll be making twice as many mistakes. Venture on for a further 10 minutes after that and you’ll find yourself beating your instrument to within an inch of its life and your account at the ‘motivation bank’ suspended due to lack of funds. Within your practice window, be brutal about what you do with your time. It’s very easy to spend your entire practice session fighting with a relatively small but infuriating problem which may or may not be resolved. This is not a good use of your time and is highly de-motivating. If a specific piece is not working on a particular occasion drop it after the third attempt and try something else. Come back to the troublesome piece with a fresh approach the next day but never give it more than a quarter of your allotted time. The same technique should apply to learning/practicing scales and arpeggios with which, if you are not careful, you can end up doing nothing else with your time. This idea of selective practicing can be further extended to embrace holidays. Make sure you have the occasional complete break from playing. Adult learners are notorious for never missing a days practice. Quite understandable when your trying to catch up and are worried about forgetting what you’ve just learned. However, it’s important not to underestimate the benefits of resting if only for a couple of days. Far from forgetting, you actually digest everything you’ve learned and, you’ll find that you return to your studies refreshed and motivated. If you can bring yourself to rest for a week, when you return it’s not unusual to discover you are a better player than you remember. Honestly, try it! Finally, listen to and watch the pros’ playing live as often as you can. What could be more motivational for an amateur musician than enjoying the talent, the creativity and virtuosity of professional musicians giving their best in live performance for our enjoyment? Whatever your instrument or genre from the RPO to the Kaiser Chiefs, it’s the ultimate musical aphrodisiac! Tom Williams May 2007 |
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