Making New Year’s resolutions is a bit of a marmite topic. A New Year is, however, seen by many as an opportunity for a fresh start, or a renewal of a promise to yourself to persevere with a passion or kick a bad habit. But how to keep momentum? According to a Bupa study, 63% of British people’s resolutions don’t last a year. Of these resolutions, 43% are abandoned by the end of January.

How are your musical resolutions for 2020 going? If they’ve begun to wilt, we have some ideas to reignite your intentions for February!

Plan your practice, long-term and short-term

Set yourself goals for a month, then break it down into manageable weekly and daily practice goals. Give yourself a couple of days slack each week for when life gets in the way and celebrate accomplishments when achieved!

Don’t beat yourself up!

No one is perfect. Life is unpredictable. We get tired: Get back on schedule when things slip. Use the opportunity of a new day or new week… or even something like the fact that the sun is shining today to pick yourself up and refresh your commitment.

Try different practice routines and lengths to find what suits your current lifestyle

Find your optimum concentration time and work with that. There’s no point practising for an hour if the last 20 minutes are unfocussed, just for the sake of it. The pomodoro technique works well for many:

25 minutes work
5 minutes break (Get up, move around.)
25 minutes work
5 minutes break
25 minutes work
5 minutes break
25 minutes work
5 minutes break
… longer break!

Have a variety of pieces and difficulties on the go

Rather than persevering with one piece until you hit a wall or can’t stand it anymore, choose a few pieces to rotate working on during practice. Balance a couple of easier pieces right at your level with a more challenging one. Return to previous repertoire as a release from all the hard work on new music (and to see how far you’ve come)!

Be accountable to someone

Telling someone of a resolution or goal is highly effective in helping you stick to it. You can do this in person, to a respected musician friend or colleague. Tell those in your piano club; your teacher; your partner. However, in today’s digital world, you could also join an online piano forum, document your practice journey in a blog or even vlog some performance clips of your progress. And lots of people who come on our piano courses, stay in touch with each other and plan a return visit together six months or a year later.

Book in informal performances (to friends) at regular intervals

Giving your practice focus with an informal deadline can also help motivate you. Perhaps choose the same friend to perform to throughout the year so that they can see your progress too. Encouragement from those you love and respect is always a boost!

Book in a formal performance

A formal deadline offers little wriggle room on sticking to your goals. Organise a concert: be it ticketed in a concert hall or over an afternoon tea at a local care home. Not only will you be focussed to prepare the best you can, but others will also benefit from the fruits of all your labour.

Go back to the pieces, composer or genre that first gave you the buzz!

• When was the last time you felt real joy playing the piano? What were you playing?
• Who was the first composer who got you really excited about the piano? Which piece of theirs were you playing?
• When you hear a piece on the radio that immediately makes you think I’d love to play that, which piece was being played?

You get the idea. Find your buzz!

See a live performance to inspire you

There are so many opportunities to hear live music and see fantastic performers that inspire you: lunchtime recitals at local churches, evening concerts in towns a few miles away… or even in your living room on YouTube! Finchcocks hosts a few charity concerts every year, as well as our magical Saturday evening recitals.

Get some new external input: Come on a course at Finchcocks

Many guests come to Finchcocks for a boost, be they amateur enthusiasts or piano professionals. Emersing yourself in the Finchcocks piano bubble for a weekend or an extended 5-day course amongst other piano enthusiasts is a great way to get fired up and motivated again! Jenny, our Assistant Course Director, put together a wordcloud of feedback from our Intermediate Summer School last year. We think it speaks for itself!

For booking enquiries, please contact Jenny on 01580 428080 or drop us a line using the form below.