Happy New Years!
Jan 1st, 2008 by Derrick Fung
Hope everyone had a good New Years - I know I did. I spent this year downtown, at the City Hall of Toronto (by Nathan Phillips Square). I subwayed down with my friends, and got down there around 11:35pm - just in time for the countdown. Afterwards, headed over to my friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s condo, where we just lounged, and ordered some pizza. It was eventfull, nonetheless, and I’m excited for all the things 2008 has to bring. I’ve been doing some thinking, and I’ve come to the conclusion that one of my New Years resolutions for 2008 is to spend more time playing music. As some of you may know, I’m finishing off school at the University of Toronto in Business Management, and hopefully trying to land a career in Corporate Finance (yes I know, totally different from a career in Music). I’ve realized that lately, I havn’t spent much time playing music. Yes, I have a little mini studio in my basement which has been quite lonely for quite some time. University gets BUSY, and it’s sometimes hard to just sit down and play. My New Years resolution is to put some time into recording and just jamming with my buddies. The question of the day is: why do we lose passion to play music? How can we renew our drive to play music?
- Focus on your strengths. Sometimes watching all the videos on YouTube of artists like Marie Digby may make us feel insignificant. Different musicians have different strengths and skills. We can’t all hit those falsettos like Chris Martin from Coldplay, nor can we play the guitar like John Mayer. However, we all have a strenth in something - so focus on it. I know for me, my vocal range isn’t that wide. But it doesn’t matter, because I’ve tried to cater all my music and recordings to my style. Don’t let celebrities bring down your motivation to play - they’re famous for a reason. Instead, work on what you’re good at, and go from there.
- Set SMART Goals. Set goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. If you want to improve your vocals, you could choose a note that you can’t hit smoothly at the moment, and see if you’ve improved after a couple of months. If you’re a guitarist, maybe you can set a goal of playing a specific song or blues scale within a certain time frame. I’ve come to realize that if we don’t set goals, it’s hard for us to improve. Moving forward, I think it’s important for me to set a realistic and specific goal, so I can really measure my improvement.
- Visit TheMusicBlogger. I know, I know. Kind of obvious for someone like me to recommend this. But I work hard to provide you with the resources and tools to renew that passion, and I will continue to do so in 2008. Many people have told me that the existence of this site has allowed them to renew their passion. I quote from one of the readers, “This website is absolutely WONDERFUL. You’ve actually gotten me excited about playing the viola and trying to learn treble clef, again”. I try my best to help musicians of all walks of life, and I hope that this site continues to drive your passion to play music.
So there you have it. Those are some pointers from me. But let’s hear it from you: What are your goals for 2008 (music wise) and how do you plan on improving your music skills?
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My new years resolution is to work harder and to have more faith and patience. In order to get better at something, we must have alot of faith, patience, and persistence♪♫
Also happy new year for you
& I’m also buying a DJ mixer and
In ‘07 I’ve learned how to beatbox, drum & play piano..
Now it’s time to mix it up
together with 2 turntables, I can mix my songs again
So a lot of mixing in ‘08
Hey William,
That’s great! I’ve always wanted to learn how to mix. It seems like a pretty complicated process, but good for you!
Lindsey, very true. Good luck to you!
My goal is to get our community music school up and running and to beam with pride at the first recital. I want so many underprivileged children involved that we have to find a bigger space and beg for more instruments. And I believe with all my heart that this will happen.
My piano goal in the new year is to improve my left hand so that it can keep up with my right hand!
I haven’t played my piano very much since I stopped taking lessons 4-5 years ago, so my goal is to take all this music I’ve collected–as well as what I already had–and organize it on a shelf by my piano, so “searching for something to play” won’t put me off practicing.
My goal is to learn the clarinet and actually be good at it. I have always wanted to learn how to play the clarinet and I have finally gotten that opportunity because of my friend. She gave me her old one (the one she learned on) before Christmas break as well as some learning books and other sheet music books. I am doing well so far, I have a good range on it and my tone isn’t all that bad. I really want to continue to learn it and even bring it up to the level that I’m at on flute. And speaking of the flute, learning another instrument has renewed my spirit for working to improve on my flute skills and reach that next level. Well, I guess I have 2 goals.
Best of luck to you all. For those who want to improve their instrumental skills - hope the sheet music is helping!
hey, first of all, Happy New year, although i’m a bit late..
as for music goals, i play keyboard in my school’s jazz band, so this year, i want to improve my comping skills! lots of practicing to be done, but it’ll be worth it! good luck on your goals too!