There are many things that one can do to improve their skills, and if you’ve decided that 2017 is the year you’ll start working harder, here are some more ideas for great new year’s resolutions that you can consider. In Part I, we mentioned dedicating more time to practice, stepping out of your comfort zone, and taking better care of your instrument. Here are three more:
Showcase yourself
Whether it’s getting together with some musical friends and putting up a small gig, taking part in competitions, or simply performing solo, finding more opportunities to showcase your skills is a great way of getting exposure, making new connections, and even possibly earning some money. Apart from that, performing can boost your passion and enthusiasm for your instrument, meaning that you’ll gain the encouragement and drive to improve more and perform more.
Work on sight-reading
The ability to sight-read is both important and extremely useful for a musician, especially if you want to perform or create music professionally. This might be one of the most challenging new year’s resolutions, but it’s also one of the most beneficial ones. The better your sight-reading skills are, the more versatile and prepared you will be when performing. It is suggested that 20 minutes daily of concentrated sight-reading is necessary for improvement, so this could be your goal for 2017.
Try something new
Ever considered learning to play a new instrument? Then this could be the time to start! While starting a new instrument doesn’t mean you should put your current one aside, it could help to broaden your musical horizons and give you something different and exciting to work on. Already knowing how to play an instrument can put you at an advantage as you’d already know some theory and rhythm basics that can be applied to the new instrument, especially if it is similar to the one you play.
As you can see, there are many new year’s resolutions that you could set as your goal for 2017. If you’re looking to start music lessons in Guernsey, get in touch with the School of Popular Music today. We offer classes and individual tutoring to people of all ages and levels, in a variety of different instruments as well as singing lessons.
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