It's that time of year again, looking at January as a time to begin anew, a time to do what you've been putting off since, oh, your last new years resolutions I'm here to talk about musical resolutions, goals that you - the musician - want to accomplish during the upcoming year.

First, brainstorm for a few minutes, hours, days (whatever you need) to come up with at least 10 items that can become your new year resolutions. Be specific, meaning, do not write "I want to smoke the neck by the end of 2007", but rather "I want to play 16th note triplets at 130 bpm by the end of 2007".

After you've finished your list, organize that list by what is most important to you. Start with the item that you would absolutely love to do by the end of 2007.  Doing so will help you clearly see where your priorities are (i.e. technical abilities, creativity, reading, playing with others, etc.) and start you off on the right path.

Side note - at this point, give some consideration to balance. If your entire list is slanted to one aspect or another, throw in a "minor" topic to also work towards, like reading, ear training, transcription, etc. This will help you be a more balanced player by the end of the year, rather than a shred monster who can't hum a tune to save their life.

At this point, you have your list and your priorities. Now, you need to look at how you are going to accomplish the goals. Meaning, plan your practice sessions and ways to measure your progress week over week, month over month. Having goals without a plan to reach them, as well as a method to check your progress, will ensure a poor result.

Finally, you've reached a point where you have goals (resolutions), you have a plan of attack and you have a method to chart your progress. The next step is .... START NOW!!!!  Do not wait until midnight 01/01/07, set up your routine and start making the routine a habit right now.

Good luck to all of you and all of your endeavors in 2007! For my students, let's talk about your musical resolutions during your next lesson (that will help me plan our lessons for 2007). For the rest of you, Happy New year and good luck in all that you do next year!!!!