Peak Performance: Overcoming Musical Plateaus

Peak Performance: Overcoming Musical Plateaus

When we learn and start to acquire a new skill, just like playing a new instrument, everything seems to be exciting and fun at the beginning! We enjoy the sense of stepping up, trying something new, and are easily satisfied with our progress. Getting better at something we’re good at makes us feel smart, talented and feel like fast learners. But as the process continues the progress seems to slow down. It is easy to become unmotivated, impatient, frustrated.  There are certain times we wonder why we can’t just get better at that beautiful piano piece or sing that new song the way we want to. Self-doubts start to come in and you question your level of intelligence because you can’t keep up with the early pace of growth. Well, you just hit that “musical plateau” which can be the toughest part of your music journey.

But, believe it or not, it’s normal to feel like you’re getting nowhere. It is part of the learning curve. You may think that masters have not undergone that “musical plateau” when they started to learn playing music but they most certainly did. Musical plateaus commonly happen during the intermediate stages of learning. Some even experience it in their advanced learning stage. It can certainly be frustrating but with determination being stronger, you should be able to overcome the musical plateaus that are in your way towards acquiring a new skill or in playing your favorite instrument.

How to overcome musical plateaus? Most of us prefer our comfort zones. But comfort zones in no way contribute to the success of learning. You cannot just repeatedly play an instrument you’re already good at or sing that same beautiful song again and again. You cannot get better if you never try. Constant discovery of new things is one way to overcome a musical plateau. Try to move away from things that are easy for you. Move away from things that are comfortable. Explore a new genre or try to play a complicated piano piece and you’ll see you’re getting that same excitement back as when you first learned a new instrument.

Learning music doesn’t require you to be fast. One must be patient and flexible. It’s fine to slow down and understand that we all go through fluctuating levels of progress. Become a part of Cadenza and we’ll teach you some other helpful techniques to overcome that “musical plateau” you’re going through so you can deal with it in the future. Cadenza is willing to help you pursue that passion and your drive to musical discovery.