There are many different ways of approaching new repertoire. Is this music for an upcoming recital? Jury? Audition? Or something you’re learning for fun? So many reasons lead to different approaches due to time restraints, whether they’re in our favor or not. How we approach our learning process relies largely on our mindset. Even if it’s for pure enjoyment, do you consciously set aside that time to play around? Or do you prioritize upcoming performances even if the program consists of repertoire you don’t particularly enjoy practicing? It’s all a question of how we address time.

For example, I have auditions approaching relatively soon (early next year), and the motivation to really focus on the set of repertoire for those auditions have been consistently alternating on and off throughout the summer thus far. In this case, a constant reminder of my long term goals is crucial. I’ve found that constantly balancing the mindset of revisiting my long term goal while also focusing on going about my days one day at a time and enjoying the process rather than stressing out over that end goal, is very important. Of course that’s easier said than done. It’s daily trial and error. During my time quarantined back home in the suburbs of Ohio, the remaining Spring semester of school post-spring break with no return to NYC, I found myself strongly motivated to continue my routine of studying and practicing. However, starting in July, motivation levels fluctuated constantly. One day I’d be extremely hard working and practice for 6 hours, the next day, none at all. Of course, maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle is crucial. Staying active and focusing on indoor workouts if there are no open fields to go to are major sources of sanity for our brain. Of course staying active and eating requires another level of motivation and dedication. For now, I will focus on the practicing elements related to audition repertoire.

Really evaluate what you genuinely enjoy and whether something is truly worth setting aside time for, whether it’s for a long term goal, or for pure pleasure. When I found myself in deep slumps of unproductivity, I found that looking for pieces that I truly loved and enjoyed playing were really motivating. I decided to make a list on my “day off” of all the pieces that I really loved playing or really wanted to learn. This resulted in my creation of my project “Hidden Gems” (located in the Projects tab). I reached out to a pianist colleague of mine and thankfully she agreed to work on this project with me virtually through sending recordings back and forth before recording a final edition. This project was my form of “coming back” into a driven mode. If I had not practiced for a few days due to laziness, I would listen to recordings of these pieces, and unpack my instrument to play around. While playing around, I would feel very passionate about the piece and have many personal ideas on style and phrasing. Of course, because I hadn’t practiced diligently, my technique was lacking in order to portray my ideas. With that in mind, my motivation fluctuated back up because of my eagerness to portray my ideas. In a way, my project “Hidden Gems” is evidence of my constant fluctuating and return to consistency. Even though my long term plans involve fine detailed work for my audition repertoire, still prioritizing time to make music that you truly feel passionate about is crucial. Yes, the audition repertoire is a priority and it’s important to focus a lot of time and attention on polishing those works and taking the time to digest the repertoire. During this process however, there are times that feel dull. It’s nearly impossible to love all genres. There will come a time in which you must learn a specific piece that you don’t particularly feel connected to. It’s the same as differing personalities. All repertoire have certain personalities to them, and not all will be suited to your particular style of playing. Don’t be discouraged. Knowing yourself and still focusing on those pieces is of course important. Keep an open mind and allow those differing personalities to fill your mind as an actor/actress would. But really ask yourself what pieces are YOU. In those times where you find yourself learning pieces that you don’t particularly love, set aside some time to reinforce your love and passion of music with your own playlist of “Hidden Gems.” Even just 5 minutes of either listening to part of that piece, or playing through it during a break. Your mind will thank you.

I highly encourage you all to take the time to evaluate what you enjoy and have plans to overcome hardships and declines in motivation. It may be difficult to stay consistent, but that’s human nature. And given the current situation, it’s even more difficult to return to daily life and consistency. We all have our list of “Hidden Gems.” Find yours and return to your roots during those moments.

Happy Practicing everyone~ ❤️