How to Make 2024 a Better Year for Your Flute Practicing

How to Make 2024 a Better Year For Your Flute Practicing

Here are six helpful tips for how to make 2024 a better year for your practicing. These include practical guidance, like making a daily goal to get to your instrument, and a few surprising tips too. 

Each item will help save you time, effort, and really boost your flute-health and happiness this year.

Let’s get going!

It sounds like an easy idea to just pick up your flute and practice. But sometimes getting those valuable practice hours can be hard. 

Today I have a good list for you that will help to make your new year brighter, and more effective, so that when the year 2025 rolls around, you’ll feel good about the progress you made. 

You’ll be ready to hit the ground running yet again, because that’s what playing an instrument and striving for proficiency is about – continuing consistently week after week, month after month, and even year after year- until the quality and beauty of your playing is right where you want it to be.

So let’s get to this list of 10 things on how to make 2024 a better year for your practicing. Flute Version!

Number One: Simplify your Practice list 

I’ve heard it said that if a task takes less than two minutes, you should just do it right then and there. This is a productivity hack for flutists that really works- and we can use this idea in our everyday lives as striving musicians. 

By chunking down the items on our practice list, we can get them done right away.

Your scales will just take a couple of minutes, so even if you have a really busy day, you can grab your flute and knock this task out quickly.

If you’re like me, and many others, you’ll suddenly find motivation and time to continue on once you’ve started. 

Your one or two minutes will turn into seven (12, 15, 25, 33+), and you’ll have accomplished even more than you set out to.  There’s no need to make an elaborate plan for your day, just to take care of something you can do in a few short minutes. Just go and do it!

Number Two: Focus 

Productivity in our flute practicing is doing more than just rushing through and checking tasks off our to-do list. It actually means focusing on accomplishing important things. The road to becoming a good musician is great, so don’t panic, just take one positive step at a time. I will help you know what these important steps are. It’s about focusing on technique as you practice each time. How you hold and play the instrument.

As you learn and know what to do exactly, you’ll find that your playing level increases consistently over time. Your pieces will feel more fun, and you’ll find yourself motivated to continue climbing the ladder to success.

Number Three: Organize your practice time 

Managing your time during a practice session can really help you make sure you get to everything that you’re supposed to, which frees up time for even more rewarding musical activities.

If you keep your Practice Guide handy (by the way, if you don’t have one yet, check out my Ultimate Practice Guide for Flute (linked), so you’ll know what to work on and stop floundering during your day. 

This will help you know what you’re going to do, when you’re going to do it, and then you can manage how long your session is on any given day. Without a schedule like this, you’ll likely spend 10 times longer learning a new skill or piece than you could have. Let’s get un-stuck this year by using my Practice Guide and keeping a timer handy. Below I have an example of how you could set up your practice time for success: 

Example: 

Tone studies = 7 minutes

Known Scales = 5 minutes

New Scales = 5 minutes 

Note Reading/Etudes = 10 minutes

Etc.

Number Four: How to say NO in flute playing

I’m as guilty as the next flute player for being a people pleaser, but if we want to boost our productivity  and make 2024 a better year for practicing flute, well, then we have to learn to say “No” to things to deter us from getting it done each day.

Does this mean we can never have other fun in life or take a break? No, it just means that we are getting some quality practice time on our daily list, and we will either say “No” to unnecessary distractions, or we’ll get creative with our schedule. 

I prefer to work my schedule out because I like to have fun. Porque no los dos? This is a fun little phase I love to use which means “Why not both”? Just get up a little earlier, stay up a little later, or practice during the half-time of that important game you wanted to watch. You can do it!