Are you preparing for an audition that seems unattainable? Do you spend hours in the practice room trying to perfect Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben? There might be a simple solution to these challenges through goal setting! Unfortunately, many students are unaware of how to create and accomplish their goals. So, how do you get started with setting goals?
Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals
You have probably already heard about the S.M.A.R.T. goals acronym. This acronym is traditionally discussed in the world of business, however, it merges perfectly into academic, personal, and professional realms. As you begin creating your goals, consider if they fall into the following criteria.
Specific: Well defined and clear
Measurable: Can you measure your progress and know when you have succeeded?
Attainable: Is your goal a realistic goal? Build off of small wins, instead of demoralizing your confidence with a goal that is too lofty.
Relevant: Will these goals help send you down a continuous path towards personal and professional success?
Time bound: Does your goal have a deadline? You might accomplish your goal much faster if you set a deadline for yourself!
Write down your goals
Write down your short term goals, two year goals, and long term goals. I find it extremely helpful to print out these goals and post them somewhere that you will see often. They can be posted in your horn case, on your desk, or next to your bed. Constantly looking at your goals will help you hold yourself accountable for the long-haul!
Make a Plan
Set up a plan on how you will accomplish these goals. Here is an example of one of my goals for the semester:
Goal: Perform Rossini’s Prelude, Theme, and Variations on a recital this spring.
Specific: I want perform a particular piece at a certain event. I will go into further detail with specific tempo markings for each variation in a more detailed timeline.
Measurable: I will know that this has been accomplished after the event is complete. The progress can be measured by setting smaller goals of increased metronome markings, learning smaller sections and chunking them together
Attainable: The Rossini is a graduate level piece, so it is realistic to play on a DMA recital.
Relevant: Performing this piece on a recital will help fulfill a degree requirement and provide a valuable lesson in flexibility.
Time Bound: The recital will be indicator of when this goal is complete.
Week 1
- Set a date for the recital
- Listen to recordings of the piece and create a mental image of how you would like this piece to sound. For more information on mental practice, check out this post: Five Mental Practice Techniques to Increase Efficiency
- Focus on practicing the prelude this week. Measures 51-52 will need to be practiced with a metronome with the tempo gradually increasing.
Week 2
- Continue to work on the Prelude and add the Theme.
- Start working on the Theme with a metronome at a slower tempo of quarter note equals 84.
- As consistency and confidence grow, increase the tempo of the Theme gradually. The Theme should be at the goal tempo of quarter note equals 120 by the end of Week 3.
Week 3
- Goal tempo of the Theme should be accomplished and the Prelude should be performance ready. Play them both together to build endurance and set the stage for work on the variations.
- Variations One, Three, and Four require lots of flexibility and multiple tonguing, so add arpeggios and scales to the daily warmups.
- Begin work on the first variation. The approach should be similar to the theme, so begin slow and gradually increase the tempo. The goal tempo is quarter note equals 84 and it should be accomplished by the end of week five.
- Begin work on the second variation. This variation will only take about one week (or less!) to prepare. Listen to recordings and visualize the accompaniment to make good decisions on tempo and phrasing fluctuations.
Week 4
- Continue increasing the tempo on the first variation. Tempo goal by the end of the week is quarter note equals 78.
- Start playing through the Prelude, Theme, and the first two variations. It is okay to play at a slower tempo, because this will help create a picture for the entire piece.
- Begin work on the third and fourth variations. The approach should be the same as the theme and first variation with a slower tempo to begin, while gradually increasing the tempo. The end goal for the third variation is quarter note equals 75 and the goal for the fourth variation is quarter note equals 82.
Week 5
- Goal tempo for the first variation of quarter note equals 84 should be accomplished
- The third variation should be played at quarter note equals 65 and the fourth variation should be played at quarter note equals 66
- Play the entire piece under tempo
Week 6
- Reach the goal tempos for the entire piece
- Begin rehearsals with the accompanist
- Begin playing through the entire recital program to build endurance and confidence
Week 7
- Continue rehearsals with the accompanist. Two rehearsals this week would be ideal.
- Play in the recital space with the accompanist and alone
Week 8
- Perform the recital! Go out and have fun!
This is a simple eight week plan on how to accomplish this goal. Please note that I chose to focus more on tempo because playing fast with quick articulation is more of a challenge for me. You may choose to focus more on variations of sound quality or slurring larger intervals.
“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” –Pablo Picasso