Why You Should Take Lessons Over the Summer

Summer is a time of laziness. Golly gee, do I know that. However, that’s no excuse to totally ignore your instrument. In fact, summer being such a lazy time is actually a good reason to keep up with your instrument – being relaxed and having less pressure (read: not having juries!) means you can focus better on things. The problem is that during summer, there’s no enforced structure for most…

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5 Signs You Should Major in Music

If there’s one question I have gotten more than anything else, it’s probably “Why are you so excited about a choral song?” Answer: Because it’s a Stephen Hatfield piece, duh. Now, if there’s one question RELATED TO THIS BLOG that I’ve received the most, it’s “How can I know if a music major is right for me?” Answer: that’s a lot harder to figure out. However, there are some signs that…

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How to Use Your Summer

Hey! Are you like me? Do you ALSO have huge plans for stuff you are going to accomplish over the summer? And yet, do you wake up in September to find you didn’t do, like, anything? Awesome! And by awesome, I mean the opposite of that. We have a problem, you and I. We suffer from Summer Procrastination-itis. Summer Procrastination-itis can be rough. It stems from having too much free…

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How to Handle Self-Doubt

self-doubt alone dock

If there is ONE problem out there that every musician suffers from, regardless of age, skill level, profession, or whatever, it’s self-doubt. Self-doubt, I swear, kills more careers and opportunities and dreams than anything else out there. At least a third of the messages I get on my social media are about how to improve confidence, how to stop doubting the sender’s abilities, how to believe in themselves, how to…

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Musical Burnout: How To Avoid It

Finals are basically over for most people, which means that burn-out may or may not be on your mind anymore. I know I feel amazing now that all my things are over, but if you had a rough semester, you might be feeling like you got hit by a truck and now you never want to play a note ever again.  Or, on the flip side, you had an awesome…

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How To Be A Better Singer

better singer goals book

What is your foremost priority as a singer? I’m gonna bet that, unless you are already literally the best performer in the world, your goal is something along the lines of “be a better singer.” The problem is, that’s a pretty gosh-darn vague goal. Just “singing better” doesn’t mean very much. Your first step is to sit and think for a bit. What do you really mean when you say you want…

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Improve Your Music Practice

woman music practice

Practicing is the 800 pound gorilla in the room when it comes to musicians and time management. It’s true. I know a some people who seem to have everything super together and get all their assignments and responsibilities done – EXCEPT practicing. They’re procrastinating their music practice by doing other things that are also technically “helpful” and “useful,” but are completely unrelated to their actual career goals. Yes, wonderful, their…

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Seven Musical Study Moods

Studying as a music major can sometimes be a bit of a struggle. I’ve found that the easiest way to succeed is by tying in my passion for music to help motivate me to study other, different music. If you’ve hit a studying roadblock, consider these study moods to help refresh yourself – try your favorites, or use a different one every day of the week! The Musical-Lover: Ingredients: Your…

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