We have been praying for a slow pace of life for so long so that we can invest more time in our real and fantasy hobbies. However, when the pandemic hit, most of us had no idea what to do with the time we had. Many of us have always wanted to learn how to play an instrument, and if the pandemic has given us one good thing, it sure did give us more time to do the things we have been wanting to do. Although more time without a proper plan or a holistic view is just more hours to spend on mindless scrolling or binge-watching T.V. shows. Don’t worry though, we are here to give you some advice to help you through your journey of adding “playing an instrument” to your skillset. You can now start with a plan so you don’t have to feel overwhelmed and make your dream a reality.
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1. Practice Makes Perfect
No one has learned to do anything by just looking at it or dreaming about learning it. You learn by doing and redoing until you have mastered what you want to learn. Make sure you’ve signed up for some lessons, they don’t necessarily have to be in person, you can find great lessons online now. Read the reviews by Know Your Instrument for the piano for example. Set a practice time or times each day and do not find excuses not to follow through. Think about it, almost all the habits you have built, including bad ones, are built by practice and repetition. It will be challenging at the beginning to follow through with something new that you are making small progress with. Trust us though that it is worth it in the end, if you push yourself and continue practicing everyday results will astonish you. Besides, you will be proud of how disciplined you are especially if you have been struggling with discipline for so long.
2. Take Breaks In A Correct Manner
We all need breaks; no one can continue working nonstop. Even if you are physically able, your mind won’t focus and at some point will stop processing any new information you give it. Take a break after 20 to 25 minutes of practice. Taking a break is something you have to plan and prepare for wisely as it is break time that helps you get ready well for the practice time to come. There are ways with which you can be productive during break times and they do not include hard work that would exhaust your brain even more. Breaks that exclusively include watching T.V. and scrolling on your mobile phone are not as relaxing as you might think they are. Try to incorporate some healthy habits in your break times.
3. Use Technology For Your Benefit
If your instrument is a piano you have probably dreamt of an exquisitely large piano inside your house on which you can play and enjoy the sounds you make with it. You have to have a really big home to own one of these huge pianos, however, you do not actually need to. Get yourself a piano VST plugin and enjoy the same sound qualities of the piano without wasting space in your apartment. Other than the space issue, a grand piano can cost a huge amount of money. A VST plugin can help you create piano sounds as well as other sounds, and the music champs on roamingsound.com believe that you can find a variety of options to choose from according to your taste and needs. The best thing with this is that there’s a list of the pros and cons for you to check before you purchase.
4. Set Realistic Goals
We often expect ourselves to get really good in less time and we get disappointed if we don`t. Try to make your goals as realistic and as achievable as you can. Setting goals before you start is really important and has to be done with success in mind to get the best results. It is not enough to say that if you want to learn to play an instrument you have to work towards your goal in calculated steps.
Time passes whether we like it or not and we can not stop it, so it is better if we use that time to our benefit and learn a new skill or start a new hobby. Filling your time with something beneficial will prove its worth after a time especially when you find yourself able to play your favorite song or entertain your friends and family and surprise them with your abilities to play. Working hard never fails, you will be very proud of yourself when you finally reach your goal. Consider the time you play on your instrument as your me-time and enjoy it as much as you can because it is time you do something for yourself.
