7 Ways to Stay Musically Fit

It is no secret that our current situation has played a heavy toll on musicians. Live music, while still active in some capacities, has nearly come to a standstill. While this reality has set many back, there are still many ways that musicians can stay musically fit amid these hardships.

 

Take Online Music Lessons

While Cloud Music Suite isn’t fully launched and accessible to everyone yet, online music lessons are a fantastic way to keep your brain sharp. With private lessons, you have a guided path that is tailored directly to your musical needs. While this is one major benefit, there are several additional benefits to private instruction.

Listen and Analyze 

One of the fastest ways to get better at your instrument is to listen and analyze songs. Whether you are analyzing song structure, or musicians who play your instrument there is always something new to learn and observe. NPR’s Tiny Desk sessions or the GroundUP Series on YouTube are great for auditory as well as visual opportunities to learn from musicians playing live!

Dabble with a New Instrument

Picking up new instruments is another way to gain perspective on your main instrument. Another benefit of this is it allows you to be more accessible as a musician. Plus, learning to play other instruments is exciting and helps you understand the full scope of the piece of music in ensemble settings.

Collaborate with Other Musicians (Virtually)

One of the biggest issues with our current constraints is that we are unable to physically meet with other musicians. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that we can’t meet and collaborate. Fortunately, we have technology that allows us to meet virtually to continue writing music together! Record yourself and send it to other musicians for collaborative videos. Get creative and have fun with it! 

Get Creative with your Instrument

Don’t be afraid to venture out of your comfort zone when playing your instrument. Since most of us aren’t meeting with ensembles at the rate we used to, this gives us more time to explore our instruments. Try new sounds, genres and songs to keep it fresh. Who knows, you may learn something very useful that you otherwise may have never thought of.

Live Streaming

A lot of professional musicians and ensembles are currently compensating by playing live gigs with live streams. The reality for most people is that we all have the capability to record and live streams with the device in our pockets. Going live is a great way to keep your performance chops up. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there! 

Honorable Mentions

Some additional topics you could try are writing new music, exploring recording/engineering techniques, and developing your practice journal further.

Bottom Line

As we’ve already mentioned, the current times can be confusing. A lot of people, in general, don’t know what to do given their current circumstances. Overall, The worst thing you can do with this current time is nothing. Take this time to try new things, learn more musical history, meet new musicians online. Most importantly, stay musically sharp so you are prepared to play with musicians again.

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