How can I become dedicated to my music?

Question:I play the flute and the piano, and I love playing both of them. The problem is, as soon as my lessons are over I have a hard time practicing throughout the week. Can anybody give me some tips that will keep me focused? Thanks!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I play the flute and the piano, and I love playing both of them. The problem is, as soon as my lessons are over I have a hard time practicing throughout the week. Can anybody give me some tips that will keep me focused? Thanks!

It comes down to a couple things - desire and passion. You may love to play the flute and piano but do you love it enough to dedicate yourself to time, commitment and energy to fulfill your potential?

All the other things - setting a practice time, setting goals... that's all wonderful but if you do not have it inside you to make the best of your talent then those things are useless. You can set a practice time and half heartedly practice just to fulfill your schedule. Or you can be totally committed to what you do and make the most out of your practice time.

Lots of people love playing the instrument... keyword is playing.... Do you love to PRACTICE your instrument. Playing and practicing are two different things. Practice is where you find out if you have true love for the music. Few people out there love to practice their instrument. Those who do, find success in music. Horowitz once said the greatest part of his day was practicing. Kissin in an interview said the first thing he thinks about when he wakes up is what am I going to practice today?

There are tons of practice methods, ideas and techniques but none of these are beneficial unless you make up your mind to practice. You have to be motivated to spend the time needed at the instrument. And you can't say I'm going to practice 1 hour. Your mentality is, I should practice until I'm exhausted and have done something productive today.

You have to decide how bad do you want to get better! Is it something that is very important to you? Do you want to play that scale faster or play that piece at the highest standard. Is getting through the notes important to you or is it more important for you to know the notes but communicate the musicality of the piece. Do you want to fulfill the talent you have and play at your highest level? or do you just want to have basic proficiency? Those are questions you need to ask yourself.

Music is 90% mental and 10% physical. Everything comes from your head and the first step which I teach to my students is how to get their heads into music. What excites you? Do you hear a performance and you want to play at that level? Is there music that you desire to play but know that you are not ready for it? Are you motivated when hearing others perform?

If you take some time to think about music and how important it is in your life, you will find out how to focus your practice. Anyone can play an instrument! People love to play guitar or piano casually, but some of us love to practice, experience the difficulties of the piece, the challenges of the instrument and the desire to excel at this career. Even if you do not want to be a professional, you can still work at our level to fulfill your potential and play at a high level. Just because you don't want to be a professional doesn't mean you still can't play a piece at its best. Music is discipline and practicing specifically is mental discipline.

i play them both as well as others too! The way i stay focused is i try take what i've learned from each lesson and try to apply it to the other instrument. If i've learned about tonalization in flute then i try to improve my tone on piano too. I also try to make a practice chart. It really helps if you have a goal to work towards.

good luck with your playing!! :)

I am a professional flutist, teacher, and competition judge in NY. Go to www.practicespot.com - they have many articles and hints on how to get yourself in the zone of effective practice. Of course, it then depends on YOU structuring your time. You must decide that a day without practicing T&G scales is as awful as a day without brushing your teeth, or eating. Decide what you want - figure out the steps to get there - so the steps. A really good teacher will help you, too. I have a diagram I call the Flute Cookie - it is divided into *bites* for all the things that must be done in one hour - including rest time. You do not have to eat the cookie all at once - as long as you eat it in one day.

you gotta love it first of all;) if you have friends who want to practice together you can set up times where you meet...that way you know you have to be there and it may motivate you to do it more often. Lisa

You could have a set time everyday that you need to practice. If you truly love your music, you won't mind giving up some free time to dedicate to practice. Don't let small distractions like a last minute intive from your friends to get some ice cream distract you from what you really should be doing. Distractions are just tests, you need to pass those testsin order to be truly dedicated.

I have the EXACT same problem. And I'm sure that most musicians do too. (My drum teacher says that as a kid he would never practice. But look where he is now! lol) I really don't have any solution for this problem, though. When I practice, I always play through my assigned music, then treat myself to some fun music to play, like themes from movies and stuff. But even this doesn't get me to practice much. So i guess I just think about how bad I'll be at my next lesson if I don't practice. This gets me practicing. lol
Hope I helped!

?Allie?

If you have a hard time practicing, and you do not enjoy it, you do not love playing the flute and piano. You love the IDEA of playing the flute and piano. Find something you truly enjoy doing.

If your 'dedication' ends after the lesson... then you aren't DEDICATED enough to ever get really good... People who are dedicated... who have SELF DISCIPLINE to learn and improve... don't just quit after a lesson and then wait until next week to get dedicated again.

If you don't have the self discipline to really get good at music... then realize that... and just play for the fun of it and not worry about it.