What It Takes To Become Great At Your Instrument

By Matti Carter

Most people want to become incredibly skilled at their instruments, but few people actually achieve the big results that they dream of. It is obvious that it takes a lot of time and effort to become accomplished at your instrument. Are you ready to put in the time and effort?

While analysing people and their musical skills, several factors can be identified that make some people reach a high level of playing while other people do not. Here are 5 things you will need to have in order to become great at your instrument:

1.A Reason

What motivates you to play your instrument? Why do you want to become great at your instrument? What do you want to achieve by having that skill? How will becoming a great player make you feel?

These are all great questions to ask yourself. If you do not have a big reason to become a great player, you most likely will not. If you really want to become good at your instrument, take your time to answer the above questions.

2.Goals

Have you set goals for the level of playing you wish to accomplish? When do you wish to achieve those goals? How many years do you think it will take you to achieve what you want?

Most people who achieve great results with their instrument have previously set some kind of musical goals, and achieved those goals later. Setting musical goals is critical to achieve success with your instrument in the long term. Having goals makes it a lot easier to progress quickly, because you will know exactly which direction you are moving in.

3.A Plan To Achieve Your Goals

Do you have a long term plan to achieve your musical goals with your instrument? Have you written down your plan?

Writing out a plan for achieving your goals on your instrument is important. You should always plan your time based on the musical goals you have, so that you will be able to reach them faster. You may not be able to specifically plan many years ahead of time at this point yet, but you can definitely plan what you are going to be doing the following week.

4.Massive Motivation And Action

How many hours a day are you ready to put in to practising on your instrument? How motivated are you to practise for many hours daily?

You may want to become a great player, but if you are not ready to put in the work, it will not be possible. Great musicians are often massively motivated by playing their instrument, and are ready to put in as many hours as it takes of dedicated practise. If that means sacrificing other areas of your life to do it, then you have to be ready to take that chance. Make learning your instrument a top priority, only then will it become likely that you will achieve your goals.

5.Persistence

Becoming great at anything can take you a long time. It could take several years or even several decades. That is why you must have a lot of persistence to work through the tough times. If you can keep going for as long as it takes, then you will have a good chance to become a great player.

About The Author:

Matti Carter is a piano instructor and composer based in Tampere, Finland. He writes instructional articles and publishes them online. If you are interested in piano lessons or have any music related questions, feel free to contact him.