Interlude: When Music Lessons Take a Pause

Interlude: When Music Lessons Take a Pause –

What do you do when there’s an interlude and your music lessons take a pause?  How can you stay musically motivated and moving forward on your own?

Sometimes there are seasons of life that require us to step back from the things we do every day and make space for something else that needs our attention.  These seasons happen to everyone.  When they happen to your music teacher and lessons are suspended for an extended bit of time, what do you do?  Here are some ideas, in no particular order, on how you can continue your musical studies independently when needed.

1. Journey to the Past! – Play and sing through some old repertoire! You can do this just for the fun of it and to keep your skills up.  Also, you can make some observations along the way – do you perform the song differently than you did when you first learned it?  Is it easier?  Celebrate the things that seemed so difficult at first, but you breeze through now.  Perform these pieces for friends and family!  That’s a great way to work on your confidence and have some fun at the same time!
2. Listen Up! – Listen to various artists. Listen to favorites and new ones alike.  When you do, work on your critical listening skills.  Make some observations.  What did you like that they did?  What did you not like?  Can you emulate the things you liked?  How can you apply what you hear to what you do as a musician?  You can learn a lot from listening!
3. Use Your Time Wisely! – This could be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for to get caught up on some things that you can never seem to get to (musically speaking). Here are some things that come to mind to get your thinking:
   1. Music Theory – are you behind in your assignments? Is there a topic that has come up in theory that you need to spend a bit more time with or want to know more about?  Now’s the time!
   2. Musit Theory.net – maybe you aren’t quite behind, but just want some extra practice with theory concepts and aural skills. Visit musictheory.net for practice on a wide variety of music theory topics and concepts!
   3. Technique – spend a little extra time on your technique. We know that technique is fundamental, but often there just isn’t enough time to really drill it.  Now you can!
4. Reflect, Celebrate, and Aspire
   1. It’s a great time to self-reflect and review your musical journey so far. What can you do now you couldn’t do before?  What are you more aware of as a musician?
   2. Celebrate! Take time to note your progress and celebrate what you’ve accomplished so far!
   3. Maybe reflecting, brings up some new goals. What are some things you are still working on and what would you like to accomplish?  Take it a bit further and prioritize.  Do you know what you need to get there and how long it may take?  Then, when you do reconvene with your teacher, see if your plan is realistic and get to work!
5. Take a break too! It’s okay to rest a bit if you need to.  Rest is very restorative and can put us in a better place to accomplish what’s next.

Special thanks to all my current studio members who were so graciously understanding of my needing to take a break to take care of things at this time of loss for my family.  And if this list gives you a new idea of what you could be doing, it’s not too late!  We still have almost two weeks before we resume making music together.  Keep these ideas handy for other breaks or when you have some extra time.  Can’t wait to hear what wonderful musical things you did over our break!