My New Year's Post

I wish my readers a very Happy New Year and wonderful holidays. Thank you for visiting my website and reading my posts.

In last week's post, I discussed making plans for the new year. If you have not yet done so, it is still a great time to think about your goals and what you want to see yourself accomplish this year.

My personal word for the new year is action. I would like that to be my guiding principle. The deeper meaning behind that is to be proactive, so I would like to act. Many times, it is easy to think of great ideas and not put them to use. But this year, I want to change that. Even though your word of the year will most probably be a different one, you can still consider the important aspect of my chosen word.

For instance, this year, I plan to take action in finishing my nonfiction book on music. I will continue practicing and preparing a program on my cello and viola da gamba simultaneously. At the same time, I will continue my daily writing and learning. However, I have specific ideas on what I want to complete and have been building proper habits in order to consistently take the right action to accomplish my goals.

My wish for the New Year is to bring everything we have been learning here into focus and offer you some tips for going forward.

Sometimes, you might find that whatever your teacher told you in a lesson was lost on you. You did what they said, but after you went home the next day, you either did not know what to practice or forgot what your teacher had told you even though you connected to everything they instructed you in that lesson. It would be wise to carry a notebook and note the essential points after the lesson or even a masterclass.

If your practicing schedule is not working, come up with some creative ways to spread it out. For example, if you can't practice for two hours in a row, then practice in twenty-five-minute increments at different times during your day.

If you are learning to play a second instrument like me, be patient with yourself. For example, as I am learning to play the viol, my skills as a cellist do translate to the gamba, such as the dexterity of my left hand and reading the music. However, there are some differences that I have to learn and avoid playing the gamba with the mindset of a cellist. One prominent example is how the bow is held and, thus, the sound produced.
I am embracing these changes patiently. My journey has become even more interesting as I try to conquer the skills necessary to produce the right sound for the new instrument.

First, take little steps to correct things that don't work out and find solutions to problems. For example, I want to learn quite a few things, but I don't have enough time in the day to do that. I do these things for ten minutes daily, such as practicing drawing.

In this context, taking action would mean being more proactive than I have been. Therefore, I encourage you to take more action this year to accomplish your set goals.

If you wanted to go to a specific concert of an opera, do that. If you wish to start learning another instrument. Why not? And if you wanted to read that book about a specific composer's life, there is no better time than this year. Should there be an audition you have long thought about doing for an orchestra or to join a local ensemble, there is no reason to wait but act.

Having this idea in our mindset could be the driving force in accomplishing our goals. Otherwise, we will keep thinking about doing things and not completing anything.

Therefore, think about ways to move your goals forward and take action—an action that you finally take toward completing your list of to-dos.

As my musical journey continues, I invite you to join me. This year, we will explore specific themes in music.

What will your theme be for this year? What steps will you take to accomplish your goals? Please share with us in the comments below.