January is the perfect time for making plans. What do you want to accomplish in your musical life in 2016? Whatever your goal might be, it’s essential that you have the right resources and a suitable framework for goal-setting, planning, and following through on your plan.
There’s nothing better than a goal to ensure you improve – but there’s nothing worse than a goal done badly! When we fail to achieve what we set out to it can be really discouraging. And it’s easy to create goals or plans which seem good – but quickly prove to be inadequate to actually ensure your success.
So how can you set goals and create plans to truly succeed in music in 2016?
At Musical U we offer a comprehensive and proven framework for goal-setting, planning, and following through on your musicality training.
Today we’re introducing a brand new resource: Your Musical Plan, 2016
It’s a workbook and guide which leads you through setting truly effective musical goals and designing a plan to reach them in the year ahead.
It takes you through Past, Present and Future to produce a plan that’s perfectly matched to your musical interests, abilities and goals.
Past: Start with an annual review.
The phrase “annual review” sounds a bit formal, and it’s important to say up front that this isn’t about judging yourself as good or bad. But it is about judging your musical year, in order to find out how you can make your next year even more successful.
Hindsight is 20/20. So why not take advantage of that?
It may sound strange, but looking backwards is the best way to get a clear picture of the road ahead. Here are a few examples of how an annual review of your musical training will help you:
- By identifying problems and struggles you’re better able to avoid them in future.
- By remembering your triumphs you’re inspired and guided to replicate that success.
- By analysing what worked and didn’t in your training you can spot new potential and drop the dead weight from your approach.
- By dedicating the time and effort to an annual review you’re starting to commit to take your musical development seriously in the year ahead.
- By sharing your annual review with other musicians your results are amplified as everybody benefits from each other’s insights.
The guide covers exactly how to do a valuable annual review before you begin planning for the new year.
Present: Musicality Status Check
Based on one of the core Planning modules of Musical U, this section gives you a comprehensive self-assessment exercise which will give you clear information on your current musical skills and the areas you could focus on next. You’ll cover:
Playing By Ear: Melody- Playing By Ear: Harmony
- Playing By Ear: Rhythm
- Improvising
- Singing
- Creating Your Own Music
- Collaboration with other Musicians
- Performing and Recording
Present: New Year’s Music Resolution
The first of January is an exciting time of year. It’s a time for fresh starts, new beginnings and a spotless optimism for what can be accomplished in the year ahead. As a musician your brain is probably already brimming with ideas for new projects and goals for improving your musicality this year.
Sadly, the typical approach of setting New Year’s Resolutions has six fundamental flaws and if you don’t know about them they can sabotage your chances of success. This section of the guide reveals what these flaws are and how you can overcome them as you set your musical resolutions this year.
Future: Planning for Effective Training
To help ensure the practice sessions you do for your training plan will be really effective, this section of the guide provides you with guidance on how to schedule and structure your training. It covers key points including:
- How long to practice for
- How often to practice
- How to keep making progress
It also includes 10 valuable tips for how to find more time for music practice in the midst of a busy life.
Future: Make a Plan and Follow Through
This section of the guide helps you use the Training Planner module of Musical U together with our Roadmaps to construct a step-by-step plan to achieve your New Year’s Musical Resolution.
You’ll also find out how to use a Progress Journal to easily maintain momentum and motivation, and get any help you need along the way.
How to get your Musical Plan
Just by following through this guide you will be in a fantastic position to begin truly effective musical training in 2016. You will be feeling a new sense of clarity, purpose, and excitement about the musical year ahead.
So how can you get Your Musical Plan?
We’re making it an exclusive free gift when you join Musical U this month.
Become a member of Musical U any time during January
and we’ll provide you with a copy of this valuable 50-page guide and workbook absolutely free.
If you are excited about the new year ahead but know you need a new system and some guidance to truly achieve what you want to this year, look no further. Join Musical U today and get access to dozens of training modules, a proven system for goal-setting and planning, and unlimited access to expert help whenever you need it. I look forward to welcoming you to the community, and here’s to your success in 2016!
