It’s January, the time of year in which we stop eating delicious things and start embarking on courses of self-improvement. 

Last year I cut out sugar for a month and it was dreadful.

Fortunately, at least in the musical realm, self-improvement doesn’t have to be joyless.  In fact, resolving to improve your recorder playing can be an exciting and empowering- if you consider your resolutions carefully.

Here are three fantastic January resolutions for recorder players.  I invite you to select one and stick with it for 30 days.  (Why 30 days and not the entirety of 2018? A year is a reeeallly long time.  A month is manageable.)

Completing any of these 30-day challenges will deepen your musicianship and improve your playing.  And all three of them are easier than giving up chocolate!

Recorder Resolution #1: Practice 15 minutes every day.  15 minutes!  That's it!  You can, of course, practice for more than 15 minutes- but you don’t have to.   What you can't do is collapse your 15 minutes- so no 30 minutes one day and 0 the next.  This is because small amounts of practice, distributed over time, can be incredibly powerful, especially when you practice with full attention and engagement.  And 15 minutes is a manageable amount of time, even on your busiest days!

Recorder Resolution #2: Learn one new piece per week.  When students first come to me, they often tend toward one of two extremes.  Either they’re repeaters, playing the same pieces over and over again, or racers, devouring new pieces but never working in depth.  This month, try a middle way.  Pick one new piece (of an appropriate level) to learn each week- but really work in depth on each of your selections.  By the end of the month, you should have made a good start on four new pieces.

Recorder Resolution #3: Sight reading boot camp.  Do you have a sight reading weakenss? Is it counting in whole notes?  Reading alto up the octave?  Playing in bass clef?  Maybe you’ve been wanting to tackle c clefs?  Pick your sight reading poison, then stockpile some appropriate music. Every practice session this month, devote 10 minutes to sight reading in your target area.  I promise you'll improve.

Want some free accountability?  Email me to say which of my resolutions you're embracing this month and I’ll check in with you in early February!