🎻 What to do if your current practice routine isn't working

Hi Reader!

This letter today is especially for you if you're in a season where you're feeling frustrated with your progress on the fiddle (or if you've been there in past and need some solidarity).

Maybe you've taken the lessons, attended the group classes, watched the YouTube videos, read the books, played your fiddle pretty consistently...

And you're still not where you want to be.

We all hit seasons where we're feeling on top of the world with practicing and implementing new ideas, and then suddenly something happens to throw a wrench in the plan.

Maybe you don't have as much time to practice as you thought you would, or maybe you were all fired up after attending a particularly effective group class, but then a couple weeks after the live event ended, that spark faded.

(That last one definitely hits home for me in this current season of live events, summer camps and festivals!)

When this happens, you have options, Reader.

1. You can throw in the towel and decide your time is better spent with other pursuits than fiddling.
2. You can keep pushing through your routine and hope you get out of the slump in a week or two.
3. You can develop a collection of different ways to motivate yourself to stick with your practice, and have a nice variation of motivations to keep you going throughout the year.

I know that third one sounds most appealing, and I did intentionally put it at the end of the list there. But as a side note, you really could do any of those three options! If 3 is calling your name, then that's a sign you really love this music and want to make it a major part of your life.

I'm guessing you didn't pick up the fiddle because you wanted to become aware of all the tips that are out there for playing your instrument.

You picked it up because music brings you a heightened level of joy, fulfillment and perhaps peace in your life. And you want to continue playing in a way that delivers on all of those feelings.

You don't necessarily need a ton of more information. Maybe all you need is a different way of applying what you know already to your practice.

So how do you transform your approach to practicing?

Here are a few examples of how I've found motivation after a slump in practice.

• I watch performers who exude joy. They don't always have to play the fiddle or even Irish traditional music. But seeing musicians love what they do reminds me that I know how that feels and that I can do the same thing.
• I put something on my calendar that's music related and that I can look forward to. Maybe it's a house session with friends. Maybe it's having an out of town trad friend visit and hit the local sessions with me. Maybe it's chatting with music friends on the phone, Zoom, or meeting up in person. Pretty often, this involves other people and making memories with others!
• I find a new exercise, or a new spin on an exercise that's been grinding my gears. Caoimhín O'Raghallaigh has some of the best advice for this: turn an "ugh what was that sound I made on the fiddle" into "ooo what was that sound I made on the fiddle". Reintroduce curiosity and experimentation!

Curious to hear what's helped you get through a practice slump too, Reader! I love idea swapping, and again the more strategies the better!

Lastly, I do have a couple quarterly lesson spots left if you're interested in booking a 90 day lesson package with me this season! Hit reply to this email, so we can chat about your preferred frequency and schedule.

If you're interested in 1:1 feedback, but short on time (or in a completely different time zone from me with no overlapping lesson openings), have a look at the 1:1 Video Feedback lesson package!

Here's to re-motivating, getting curious and finding what practice methods are most effective for you.

Happy playing!

~Hannah