In every musician's development, regardless of experience, level of playing, style, or age, there is always more to learn and ways to improve. Many of us can get into a rut, or get creatively stifled at some point. Whether or not you find yourself in that situation, or just want to get better or come up with new ideas, here are some ideas to keep your habits of good musicianship growing over time.
1) Become an Active Listener
To refine our discernment of musical grammar, we should regularly listen to recordings, attend performances, and self-record with hi-fidelity devices. In tandem, we do well to expose ourselves to diverse interpretative styles by listening to recordings of different musicians performing the same music.
2) Learn a Second Instrument
Even if you’re a complete beginner at whatever new instrument you pick up, give it a try. This can benefit you in a multitude of ways. Such as: seeing a different visual layout of notes, as well as hearing them in different colors and timbres, can give you a fresh visual and aural perspective and will hopefully lend to new ideas and creativity as well as give you a new appreciation for your current level of playing on your primary instrument.
3) Study General Music Topics
General music topics commonly consist of music theory, ear training, keyboard, music history and literature, and world music. Studying these subjects impacts our artistry in multiple dimensions. To augment our appreciation of composers we study in a world music course, we might improvise in their style.
4) Improvise or Compose
All musicians need core improvisational abilities for both artistic and practical reasons. In the same vein, we all benefit from basic competence in music composition. You can devote time each week to composition and improvisation, we incrementally advance our know-how, and then our creative powers move forward in step.
5) Collaborate
As obvious as this may be, for many, it may not be so… We are more than comfortable playing solo at home for ourselves, or our friends and family, but it is totally different when you play with another person (or a whole band). So many things can change when we are in a setting with other players that our musical selves must react to, from simply playing at a different tempo than we’re used to, to having to accompany someone, to having to think in terms of filling up space, and so much more! Getting into these settings can really help by putting us in the moment, and having our ears and hands react to our surroundings outside our comfort zone.
6) Feed Your Artistry
Reading and writing feed our artistry. Art-nourishing texts include poetry, musicians’ biographies, practical guidebooks, and treatises on musical style. Beneficial writing could comprise journaling, blogging, and so forth. Participating in music festivals and varied arts events can also extend our artistic spheres. Beyond music, we might periodically go to plays, art exhibits, and dance performances, and then reflect on how different arts disciplines generate sparks of creativity.
7) Find Mentors or Get Lessons That Work for Your Time and Budget
No matter what stage of the game you’re at, studying with a pro can always help. Tiger Woods still has a teacher, as does Andy Roddick, he still has a coach. There is always more to learn, and we can only get so far without having a professional 2nd set of ears from an outside perspective to give constructive criticism. There is an endless amount of information, as well as an endless amount of great teachers out there willing to share their knowledge. Take advantage and be open to not only what a teacher, but a fellow musician has to say!
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