Did you know…
that in Australia only 20% of children get the chance to learn music and 70% of adults wish they had?
Artfacts from Australia Council – more fascinating statistics on music and the creative arts in Australia.
Music dreams for you could be to start playing an instrument, to find more time to play your instrument, to discover more musical styles, to find others to explore and play chamber music with, to win an audition or to study at tertiary level with an eminent teacher, to work and travel abroad with music, to be in an orchestra, to play for your family. What’s your musical dream?
Help defining your dream?
To write down your dreams and aspirations on a fresh, blank piece of paper can be very daunting.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Write in categories – family / relationship / business / music / friends – each one will reflect something different.
- What do you NOT want to do? Work this out and your half way there. As much as I enjoyed it for the year, teaching classroom music was NOT going to be how I spent the rest of my life.
- Find a mentor
- Read books. There is a wealth of knowledge in your public library – go channel it.
- Talk to a close friend or your partner. If you trust the person, you will be surprised at what you often admit to them and to yourself in the course of a heart to heart.
- Dreaming and aspirations takes time and will constantly need attention if you want to succeed in your goals in life. Create a dream list and get to work.
Writing your dreams
Ask yourself these questions. What kind of person do I want to be? What kind of things would I like to have? What kind of experiences would I like to have? What kind of things do I like to do? With your list of dreams, start to expand each idea into separate items and steps to get there. Remember to dream as though time and money was no concern.
The power of visualization and images
Once you have your dream list, start to surround yourself with pictures and reminders to get you there. If you want to study abroad, grab the brochure and stick it on your stand so as you practice, you see yourself at that institution. If you want to play in a group, cut out pictures of groups you like or like the look of and stick your head and instrument on the picture. If you want to be a teacher, have an image of a teacher that inspires you, doing something that inspires you.
Experience your dream
Nothing can compare to actually seeing, touching, hearing or living your dream. If you dream about owning a new and ‘better’ cello, go out and play cellos at luthiers and specialist string shops – by playing a new cello you will find your dream cello. If you dream about learning with a new teacher, phone them for a consultation lesson and experience their style first hand – why wait? If you dream about meeting others who want to play music for pleasure, pick up the phone and start. If you dream about working in a certain orchestra, become a subscriber and go to their concerts. Get to know the work before you do it. You and only you can activate your dreams.
Review your dreams
Review your list and if you can do it daily. Make it easy for yourself to view your list and images – stick them on your mirror, above your bed, in your diary. Surround yourself by your dreams. Your dreams are what drive you forward. Use this fuel to get you there.