Six Ways To Maintain Your Musical Skills – Even In The Summer!

Practicing during the summer can be a daunting task because everyone loves having fun in the sun! While the most dedicated students won’t back down from practicing a lot no matter the weather, here are a couple ideas of how to keep yourself motivated and ready for fall lessons/school when you return!

1. Don’t stop practicing: It’s obvious, but it really is the most effective. If you want to keep your technique up just keep playing!
2. Set a schedule: If “just doing it” isn’t enough motivation, try writing out a schedule for yourself. Try your best to practice the same time everyday so that it becomes a healthy habit.
3. Practice early morning or at night: With camp, the pool, or the beach to go to during the day, it can certainly make practicing a lesser priority. Practice when it’s cooler out so you’re not tempted to run off and do other outdoor activities.
4. Explore new music: You can take a more relaxed approach to playing your instrument – it doesn’t always have to be scales and exercises, especially if you’re not taking lessons for the summer. Challenge yourself to read a new piece of music, or pick 4-5 easy pop songs and see how fast you can learn them! Check YouTube – there’s a lot of good info you can learn from there without feeling too mentally taxed. (There’s a lot of bad info too, so be cautious!)
5. Play with others: Since it is indeed summer, you must be eventually hanging out with some of your friends. So many of us play music – now would be a great time to try making a band! I’ve done this myself with friends from high school and we’re still in a band to this date!
6. Drink lots of water: This may seem odd to write in this article, but many students come to lessons tired because they’ve spent a whole day in the sun. The sun zaps you of energy after a long day, staying hydrated will give you the energy to practice instead of flopping down on the couch!

Have fun in the sun and happy practicing!