Setting Goals

As another great semester wraps up, I've had many thoughtful conversations with students about setting goals for the summer and practice strategies. With months in between semesters, it is easy to veer off course of vigilant practice and playing goals.  I offer the following advice to my students.
1. Have fun! Be sure to add a sense of play into your practice. Improvise, read new rep, try arranging or anything else that might inspire you or keep you focused.
2. Short and sweet: It's much easier to commit to short sessions than large sessions of practice. With a summer job and friends to see, it may be hard to find spare hours. However, 20 minutes before work to warm up is attainable, as is another 20 minute slot later in the evening or right before dinner to do some playing.  
3. Set realistic and attainable goals. Learn one movement of your sonata for your recital, learn how to double tongue, find a few excerpts that you wanted to learn. The smaller and more specific the goal, the easier it will be to achieve. As well, keep asking yourself, 'how does this help me reach my dream job?' Keep your eye on the prize and every victory will be much sweeter! 
4. Find a buddy: As my students are preparing for the International Horn Society Conference in August, they know they still some work ahead of them to achieve the level of excellence they strive for. They are working toward their performances by making videos, playing with a metronome and/or tuner and uploading it for their peers.  They will help support and encourage each other to play their best with goals every few weeks. If you don't have a friend in your hometown, you can play for one another online or join a Facebook performance or etude group.  
5. Listen to lots of great music: Find inspiration and new repertoire through lots of listening - it's amazing how much you can learn through osmosis and by absorbing great sounds.
6. Revisit technical challenges from the school year. My biggest learning opportunities happened when I had time to process and absorb new ideas - when the 'pressure' of the weekly lessons were off and I had more time and patience to experiment, my learning skyrocketed.
7. Take some time off! Avoid burnout and give yourself some time to relax and have fun! Appreciate what you do and love your craft, but appreciate why you work so hard for this success at the same time. Victory will be much more satisfying because of it.