3 Ways to Make Your Music Practice Fun Again
What makes music fun? No really - what would you say makes music fun? As musicians, music can become work and practice and work and more practice, taking out all the joy that made us so in love with our art to begin with. Maybe it was the way you felt after you mastered your first song, hearing the band echo in the gym, or learning all the wild sounds you could make. If you’ve lost that fire for your instrument, here are some ideas on how to make practice more fun instead of just another to-do.
1. Try learning a unique song (hopefully one you like!)
Whether or not there’s sheet music for it somewhere, find a song you really enjoy. See if there’s a way you can create a version on your flute, trumpet, or whatever you play. It could be a video game score, a movie soundtrack, a song from your childhood, or a current hit you love. Whatever it is- it needs to be a tune you’d love to hear again and again, and that you’d genuinely find fun to learn to play.
Remember the point of this exercise isn't necessarily to do it perfectly or get the song completely correct, but it's to get you to actually enjoy and have fun playing your instrument again. If it helps, if you used to play back in middle school or high school (or if you're still in school!) remember how it felt to hear all the cool songs that your friends knew or the cool kids (you know the ones) always liked to show off. Go back and learn the Jaws theme song, a pop song, or the Pirates of the Caribbean. You can still be learning and advancing your skills while just having fun recreating an old memory or trying to apply your instrument to a fun tune!
2. Change it up!
This may sound obvious. But, sometimes you get so in a routine that we don't even realize how those routines are making everything feel like drudgery and boredom. Think about your normal practice routine. Especially if you're a professional musician, you probably have a set way that you practice every single day or very often.
Think about where, how, and what sorts of things you do every day to help yourself grow in your craft. Now, think about what about that feels the most boring or weighty. Let’s reinvent that! Maybe, you need to take your practice outside or to your favorite park or just to a different part of the house. Maybe you need to change when you're practicing or what order you do things in. Get really specific!
And maybe the problem is that it feels boring to do it every day, so see if maybe you could do it only a few times a week, or do different exercises every day so you're not doing the same thing day in and day out. You could also handle it like an athlete- mix up your training and what you're doing each day. Some days you could be training your breath or your body, and other days are actually playing your instrument and trying to master a song.
And remember, keep doing this! Keep mixing it up and changing how and when you practice. Oftentimes you're not actually the problem- it's the where, the what, or the how.
3. Make it a game or a challenge.
Whether you're 12 or 62, a game or challenge is fun and motivating for almost anyone. So, why not make your practice like that? It could be as simple as you reward yourself with fun food or a fun outing after a certain number of practices, or giving yourself small goals you wanna hit in your practice- so every step closer feels important and purposeful. You could challenge a friend or peer and keep each other accountable - or just make it a pure competition (most hours practiced gets free dinner that month, etc.)
It can also help to make it a mantra. YouTube musicians TwoSet have made a whole deal out of their mantra “40 hours” which basically means- practice 40 hours a week. Treat your art like a full-time job and be dedicated to it, wherever it fits in. Find a challenge that works for you, whatever will get your motivation pumping.
Maybe to get back into practice, you don’t need the playing to be a game, but the boring ol’ conditioning work. That’s why we so love the Original Breath Builder because it makes breath training just that- a game. Get the ball to the line and see how long you can hold it, and repeat until you reach that goal! It feels so simple while actively helping you breathe better, play longer, and become a better musician.
As an Associate Professor of Trombone, James Decker told us, “I was moving air efficiently, inhaling and exhaling greater quantities of air with greater ease and freedom. The freedom and increased air quantity immediately had a positive effect on my trombone playing, helping to make my tone fuller and richer than ever before! The Original Breath Builder truly is an essential tool for both increased beauty of tone on a wind instrument and for improved respiratory health.” All that- and you can make it into a fun challenge that really does help your playing!
In the end, whatever helps you revisit the joy and the love that you have for your instrument is the best way to keep your practice consistent and actually want to pour into your art. Whether it's giving Lizzo a French horn piece, taking your practice into the garden, or betting a buddy he can’t practice more than you this month- dare to find ways that help your practice feel more like fun, and less like a chore. We promise it’s possible- and believe music should never stop being about passion, drive, and a good time, even at its most serious.
