Success Beyond The Score

As we have discussed before in the blog, New Year's Eve is not the only point in time where we can stop, look at what we have done, think about where we want to go, and make plans. In fact, to reach your goals, you should most definitely be tracking your progress and adjusting your actions way more frequently.

The beginning of September is a good checkpoint. Summer vacation is mostly over, kids go back to school. The demand for gigs decreases slightly, and the uninviting weather of early autumn is a great excuse to sit down inside and focus. Also, there is still enough time before Christmas to assess your situation at different levels of your life (family, music, finances, etc.) and make a solid plan to tweak what you need to tweak.

Dust off that list of new year's resolutions you made in January and evaluate. First, acknowledge any and all achievements and progress you have got so far. Good job! Then, in regard to the goals that are still pending, ask yourself why that is and answer...

If you are like me, setting goals and targets is a great way to achieve musical progress. To help with this, in December, I purchased a Christmas present for me: a planner.

It might seem boring, but it's exactly what I need to get organised. I prefer paper and pen, so I can get in touch with the page and my thoughts more easily. Some prefer to use apps, and that is OK, too. 

One thing I like about planners is that many have motivational statements on different pages. They remind me to keep going. Another is how their design makes it intuitive, easy and efficient to organise your thoughts.

Mine has a To-Do page for the month, which is great for listing the title of my monthly targets (e.g. MOT the car. Songs to learn for X gig). Then, there is a month at a view page, which helps me to allocate the tasks of my targets in the month (e.g. the day I will call the mechanic, the day I will practise a particular song). A month at a view also helps me to be more aware of how cluttered my li...

Happy holidays! Regardless of how you spend this time of the year, we hope you've enjoyed it to the fullest, and that you've also caught some well deserved rest. 2024 was quite hectic for many, so let's give ourselves a moment to breathe and maybe give ourselves a pat in the back for the challenges that we overcame.

This is also a good time to remember the big, good moments. For example, the first live concert of Time For My Music at the end of October was a massive achievement for our community. We can't wait to post the professional footage in the upcoming months, but in the meantime—and to add some good vibes to your New Year's Eve preparations—here are two clips from Millicent's performance at the end of that evening:

Count on us for resources and support in your music journey this and every new year. We are dying to hear about what you've got in mind!

It's a new year and, as with every new beginning, we have the opportunity to take decisions and attitudes to work towards achieving our dreams. For 2024, we'd like to bring kindness to your attention.

Let's be kinder to ourselves. Diligence and discipline can take us very far, always that they remain that and don't turn into self-deprecation and self-mistreatment. Think about it: you are the one best equipped to understand your own rhythm and your limits. There's a difference between pushing yourself to do your best, and forcing yourself again and again to attempt something you can't do yet, until frustration crushes you. As the American actor Jason Alexander quotes during a master class at Boston University: "You don't yell at a bud because it isn't a flower yet. It's going to be a flower, but it opens when it's time for it to open."

Look at the goals you've set for yourself this year and ask yourself whether they are realistic and specific enough to be useful to you. Don't set your...