The new year brings us all a chance to make goals and start anew. No matter who you are or part of life you are in, having new goals revitalizes your life and keeps you aiming towards a life you have always wanted. In fact, New Year resolutions are important for pianists young and old.
We often have trouble maintaining sight of our piano goals throughout the year, either getting bogged down by unexpected difficulties in pieces or in life, usually practicing less than we hope, or not making enough progress in our technique or repertoire as we hope.
Here are the top 8 New Year resolutions for pianists you can make to expedite your learning.
1. Learn a few pieces from your “Favorites” list
Who does not have a list of their absolute favorite piano pieces? These are works you are dying to play, and can be of varying levels in difficulty. Who says you cannot have the Stravinsky Firebird Suite on your list even if you started learning piano two months ago?! Although I would recommend not tackling the Stravinsky any time soon, having favorites keeps the fire and ambition for playing piano alive. Too often, we become bogged down in the difficulties of learning pieces and forget to love and enjoy this music.
Take your list to your teacher or research the level of difficulty of each piece, but aim to complete one or more of the pieces during this year. If there are none that are low enough for your level, than ask your teacher for recommendations for an end-of-the-year challenge and research different composers to learn about the vast repertoire of piano music out there.
After choosing your goal piece, make sure to work up to the challenge by practicing appropriate exercises and preliminary pieces that will help you achieve this goal. Ask your teacher for help in this matter, as they will know best what is required in terms of technical or musical challenges.
2. Play in two recitals throughout the year
Part of the art of piano is in performing. There’s a reason they call music a performing art. Knowing how to perform on stage is an important learning process for everyone. Not only do we work harder and aim to play our best for these occasions, we become acquainted with our learning habits, our handling of nerves and stressful situations, and learn from our fellow recital performers.
The act of preparing for a recital is stressful but necessary. We learn to play better than we thought we could, and push our technical and musical skills to another level. More importantly, performers must learn to handle their fears and deal with performance anxiety. This is a whole new arena of our musical journey, just like actors must learn to act in front of a camera.
3. Achieve the next level in your local organization’s tier system
Tier systems are a good way of organizing your learning and keeping track of your progress. Less stressful than competitions, it is also a good chance to get feedback from other teachers regarding your playing. Whether you hope to jump an entire level or part of a level, aim to participate in whatever organization available in your area or encouraged by your teacher. This will help direct your learning by providing a roadmap for repertoire to choose from and the next steps in improving your technical and musical skills. And just like recitals, these are a chance to push your performing skill to the next level.
4. Play a concerto
One of the most exciting New Year resolutions for pianists is the goal of playing a piano concerto. Even intermediate students can try a concerto at some point! Concerto performance is another realm of repertoire that requires a different set of skills. All advanced pianists should aim to learn a concerto every year, as there are many young artist competitions available to provide rising pianists a chance to play with orchestra. Imagine the wonder of playing as a soloist with an orchestra! Not only is it great for the resume and your pianistic confidence, being able to work with an orchestra is one of the most amazing things an advanced or aspiring pianist can hope to achieve.
5. Learn a piece from every different style (for classical musicians)
There is a vast body of piano repertoire so it can be pretty daunting to choose your next piece to tackle. On the other hand, you may really only like one particular style of music or composer, and find yourself reluctant to try other styles.
However, being able to play multiple styles will only improve your skill as a musician. Every style requires a different kind of skill or stylistic trait, and being able to diversify your playing is necessary as a musician. Imagine only eating pizza and ice cream every day! Not only would you become tired of it, but you may not realize the whole world of amazing food available in the world!
6. Listen to a symphony once a week
Students who listen to music gain imagination, creativity, and sensitivity that is necessary for their own musical growth. Additionally as pianists, we always attempt to mimic the orchestra and make the piano full of as many varied colors as possible. Orchestral music is grand and majestic, and so many composers wrote piano music with orchestral instruments in mind. It is necessary to know the different instruments in order to mimic the timbre and textures in the music.
7. Attend concerts by your local orchestra or community musicians
Support your fellow musicians and community by attending their concerts! Just like listening to a symphony at home, attending a live concert is important for expanding your repertoire and being exposed to other musicians’ performances. Additionally, the live atmosphere is ten times more potent than a recorded YouTube video. If you have yet to attend a classical concert or symphony concert, it will be an amazing experience!
8. Perform in a few community concerts
Bring your music to your community and share your love of this art with others. Music brings healing and peace to others, and serves as a chance to connect and give back to others.
What New Year resolutions for pianists resonate with you? What do you plan to achieve during these next 12 months? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
Alison Chiang