The Confident Musicianing Podcast
Want to get better at your music auditions? You CAN transform the way you audition and The Confident Musicianing Podcast guides you through it.
I’m Eleanor, and together we dive into concrete strategies for the before, during, and after of your audition process so that you can be better prepared and crush that performance! If you’re a music student ready to revolutionize your auditioning, let’s jump in. Tune in every Tuesday for another insight-filled episode; see you there!
The Confident Musicianing Podcast
Your Blueprint for Overcoming Overwhelm and Managing Your Practice
Swamped in preparation for a big performance, audition, or deadline? Let's embark on a journey together, creating small goals and mapping them into a bigger plan. And hey, don't forget to reward yourself along the way, it's crucial! I’ll also give you insights on the importance of mental rest, and yes, it's easier said than done. I’ve been there and I’ll let you in on some helpful strategies to manage your practicing. Also, don't miss out on the free worksheet that I created for you to map out your goals; you'll find it here in the show notes. So, let's dive in and start crushing those musical goals!
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This time last year, I was swamped. I was preparing music for auditions for music school in the US, the UK and in Ireland. Each school wanted different things and each country had different requirements, which resulted in my preparing a crap ton of music. You probably guessed it I was feeling overwhelmed. Hello and welcome to the Confident Musicianing podcast. I am your host, Eleanor, and after countless practice sessions, a ton of broken reads and seven different music school acceptances in three different countries, I have learned a thing or two about savouring your practicing, becoming your best practice companion and actively working towards your musical goals, and I want to share this with you because I want you to become your best musical self. Are you with me on this? Let's get started. When you're overwhelmed, it can be extremely hard to even start. It was for me, so much so that I procrastinated for almost two months. Two months hich made me even more overwhelmed, because I procrastinated for two months. That is a long time. So today we are going to dive into three simple strategies for when you are finding it hard to start, so that you can practice for those big goals and big deadlines. These are the strategies that I used when I decided, after two months, that I was actually going to practice the music for my auditions. Now, I was practicing during those two months, just not the music that was supposed to be for my auditions. So when I decided to actually get this together and work on this, these are the steps that really helped me, even though I procrastinated for two months, and I want to share them with you. So let's get into it. Number one I planned it out and started with small goals. Okay, this is so important. Writing down what you need to do is so helpful, but when you're feeling overwhelmed and it's hard to even start, then start small. Do not start with the big stuff. That can wait. Make sure you plan out your small goals and this will help you to feel productive when you accomplish these small goals. Okay, now, remember this isn't for the whole time. This is just the start. After this you will tackle more, but for now, just make small goals. So let me give you some examples, because you might be saying Eleanor, what do you mean by small goals? What constitutes a small goal? Let me tell you so. For example, if you wanted to practice and you said okay, I am going to set a 15 minute timer and I'm going to practice this passage in this piece. That is giving me trouble. That is a small goal. That is 15 minutes. If you said I am going to set a 10 minute timer and practice a specific scale that I am struggling with, that is a small goal. If you say I'm going to set even a five minute timer and put the breath marks into my music or the bow markings or whatever it is, that is a small goal. Even like 25 minutes to practice vibrato or whatever it is, that is also a small goal. These small goals will help you to get started and once you are already started, once you already have your instrument out of the case, once you are already playing it, you are already warmed up because you have accomplished some of these small goals. It will be so much easier to keep going.
Your host, Eleanor:Number two is take the small goals and write a bigger plan. So I know that I just said just focus on the small goals. Step two is for after you start those small goals. And you start those small goals and you do them a few times and you're like, okay, you know, I'm kind of back on my game because I have been practicing them. I feel a little less overwhelmed because I'm starting to actually work on this. Yeah, then you take the small goals and you make a bigger plan. Trust me, it will help. You write out your deadline and you take the time you have from now until that deadline and you plan it out. This is your roadmap of small goals. Every day, you do your small goals, but overall, this is where you're going. That is your bigger plan.
Your host, Eleanor:Okay, so you might be saying right now, Eleanor, how do I plan my bigger plan? What are you talking about? I don't know how to plan the bigger plan and I don't know if I want to figure out how to make a bigger plan. Well, you are in luck because I have already done that work for you. In the show notes, there is a freebie just for you that I have created with you in mind to take those small goals and to create a bigger plan. It is literally a free worksheet or map or whatever you want to call it, just for you, so that you can take those small goals and create a bigger plan, so that you can achieve these bigger goals along the way. You can achieve the deadlines, you can work towards this, you can get this done. So, if you want to check out that freebie, because I know you do, because I have already done all of that work for you. You just need to fill it out with the goals that you have. Go check my show notes and get that freebie. Okay, it is all for you.
Your host, Eleanor:Now, after you've gotten my freebie, after you've done the small goals, after you've created this plan and started working on it, this is where number three steps in, and this one is so important. I didn't think about how important this one was this time last year when I was working through this, but, to be honest, it is really important, and that is rewarding yourself. Especially when you're overwhelmed and you're feeling a little paralyzed, you're feeling like, okay, where do I even start? And you finally start with those small goals. Rewarding yourself is huge because you did something huge and you deserve a reward. So, whatever that rewarding is reading a good book, having chill time, having your favorite dinner, hanging out with friends, whatever you like to do reward yourself.
Your host, Eleanor:Create that break time, create that free time, and remember, when you do have break time, remember that your body is not only resting or taking time away from your practicing, but so should your mind. So, if you are rewarding yourself and you're going for a walk, you're hanging out with friends, but your mind is still thinking okay, what am I doing tomorrow in terms of practicing? What am I doing? How am I doing? You know, thinking about practicing oh, that run. I have to work on all of these things. That is not proper resting and I know how hard it is to turn that voice off in your head. I have been there 100%. But it is good to remember that when you practice, you got to focus. That is your focus time. But when you don't practice, when you are rewarding yourself for practicing, when you're taking time off, it's very important for that little voice to go away. And it takes time, oh my gosh. I know it takes time, it takes practice for that to happen, but I highly recommend that you rest not only physically but also mentally.
Your host, Eleanor:Okay, so let's do a quick recap. Number one we got plan it out with small goals, small goals like 10 minutes to do this, 15 minutes to do this, 25 minutes to do this, whatever it is. Then you take those small goals. After you've done the small goals for a bit and you've kind of gotten back on track, you take those small goals and you write a bigger plan and, to be honest, if you want to, you can write that bigger plan even when you are still getting back on track. Right, because that bigger plan is part of getting back on track. So, even if you want to do the bigger plan while you are creating some of those small goals, go for it. You can totally do this. So, that bigger plan. If you don't want to do the work in figuring out how to best structure the bigger plan, I have a freebie. So go check out that freebie. It is just for you. I made it for you to get back on track and to get these deadlines completed.
Your host, Eleanor:Okay, and number three, we got reward yourself, not only physically, but also mentally. So taking a break, taking a break from your practicing, doing something you like maybe going for a walk, hanging out with friends but also creating a break for your mind, so not thinking about practicing while you're doing something other than practicing. That is so important. And that's it for today. Thank you so much for listening to the end. That is so sweet of you. I am so grateful. This was my first ever podcast episode and they will only get better from here. So if you don't want to miss the next ones. Make sure you click that subscribe button and I cannot wait to see you in the next episode. Bye, bye.
