Things I Wish I Did More As A Young Musician

As I get older and continue to teach younger generations of students, a slew of retrospective thoughts come into my mind. Here’s a list of things I wish I had done a little differently while I was younger. I can’t say I regret much in my music career, but I do wish to share these thoughts, especially for the younger musicians and students out there!

I wish I had:

1. Practiced more: Perhaps this is an obvious one, but despite being trained as a concert pianist who practiced at least 3-4 hours daily for years and years, I wish I had practiced more. What one doesn’t realize is that after music school, as an adult, you are swamped with work and gigs. In other words, there is no time to practice! The skills you learn when you are a practicing student are all you get, so appreciate the time given; take it and run!

2. Gone to more concerts: While I do wish I went to more professional concerts when I was younger this is actually pertaining to student recitals. In music school, all of my friends gave recitals, myself included. While I did go to some, I didn’t start going to a lot until graduate school. Here, I developed an ear for what was an underdeveloped or “work-in-progress” sound versus a polished and professional grade sound. Student recitals help you understand the progression of learning an instrument and track where you are in your own learning.

3. Done more “jam” sessions: When you collaborate with people to “jam” (improvised music creating session) you learn a lot of new tricks. You share your ideas with other people and they share theirs with you. I had a few bands in high school where I did this, but I never really branched out with people other than my friends. Jamming can lead to forming a new band, new gigs, or a new job. At the least you’ve extended your network of musicians that you can now pool from.

4. Changed piano teachers: While this may not be for everyone, it can be for a lot of people. I studied with my first piano teacher for about ten years before switching to a new one. My first teacher was fantastic and taught me many things, but ten years was too long; we had both grown comfortable with each other and she wasn’t pushing me anymore. Conversely, I wasn’t practicing as hard as I should have. A new teacher can bring you out of your comfort zone in a good way. This is not to say that if you have a good relationship with your teacher that you need to change it for change’s sake. Have an open discussion with your teacher if you feel this step it right for you!

5. Participated in more ensembles: Outside of school, it doesn’t matter what age you are, you can start becoming a semi-professional/professional musician almost immediately if you have the skills. I would have liked to participate in more youth choirs and orchestras to gain more experience and meet more people. This is similar in a way to number 3 of this article.

Hopefully this gave you some insight into the life of a young musician. Everyone is different and you will have to forge your own path, but this guideline is here to help you figure out a few steps. Good luck!