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Goal Setting? Do I Really Want To Do This?

 

I have signed up for a 14-day free trial of tonebase, a music-learning program. I discovered their YouTube channel a few days ago, and, after some research, decided to try it out. It's geared toward intermediate to advanced musicians (though there are also resources for beginner to early intermediate). It begins with a series of questions so they can determine your level and give you a recommended path. Levels range from beginner (think Bach's Musette in G) to advanced (Rach 3).

You could only give one answer per question, but there were some for which two answers could have been correct for me ... so I took it twice. The first time, I landed in Level 7, and the second time I landed in Level 6. I thought this was a pretty good assessment--both levels contained a few pieces I've played before, along with a few that I'd like to play. For now, I'm staying in Level 6 since I'm rusty from a few years of not playing. Plus, I could definitely use some review in the areas of music history and style, scales and arpeggios, and music theory.

Setting Music Goals

When I signed up, they sent me a free download "practice kit." I'm looking through it, and there is one page where they ask you to think about your music goals. Of course, it's so important to set goals. Still, I feel a little cynical about goals. Once upon a time, all I needed to do was imagine a goal, and I would reach it. Now? I get distracted. I get tired. I get injured. I get depressed. I stop caring. And I think, "Do I want to set myself up for disappointment, yet again?"

Another issue I have with piano is that my goals are too varied. I want to compose music! I want to master jazz theory! I want to learn to improvise! I want to play Liebesträume No. 3 and the full Pathétique sonata! And "Great Balls of Fire" and "Linus and Lucy" and "Thunder Road"! I want to be able to play straight out of a fake book! I want to be able to take requests! I want to have a library of music memorized that I can play anywhere, anytime! I want to be a cool blues pianist! I want to give a full classical-music recital when I'm 50! (That last one was a longtime goal. I'm now 53, and I no longer have the desire to plan or execute a recital.)

So. Even if I had started all of this 30 years ago, I don't know that I could have done them all. (A little voice in my head still tells me I could have. I try to ignore that voice because it just makes me feel bad that I've wasted my life and causes me to plunge into even more of a depression than I'm already in.)

Focusing on Small Goals for Now

So. What should my goals be going forward? I know what my small goal is: Practice the F minor nocturne at least 15 minutes a day until I can play it. Even if that takes me six months or longer.

But what are the big goals? Am I a fool even to entertain the big goals? Would it be better to have a few categories of very small goals? Something like ...

BLUES: Complete the tonebase tutorial on blues piano, which promises to have you jamming with your musician friends at the bar by the time you finish. (I have no musician friends and haven't been to a bar in years, but I do want to write some blues songs.)

JAZZ: Work on my jazz progression exercises again, get them back under my hands. When I was doing that before, it enabled me to improvise for as long as I wanted, even though it was more like color-by-number than actual artistry. But it was a good start.

POP: Pop songs generally are not that hard to play. It's more a matter of acquiring the music and taking the time to learn (and memorize) it. I have to admit, this category isn't as much of a priority as the classical, blues, and jazz categories. But I do want to work on some things because that tends to be what people like to hear.

Goals for Tonight and This Weekend

My goals for tonight and this weekend (each day) are to (1) spend at least 15 minutes on the nocturne; (2) spend 10 minutes going through my jazz progression exercises; and (3) begin tonebase's blues piano tutorial.

I'll make notes on everything here, and I may even video/record some of my progress.

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