Hello one and all!

As we enter the beautiful colours and late, light evenings of early summer, I'd love to take a moment to reflect and consider on what you'd like to focus on over the coming weeks.

Please take some time to think about some of the questions below, important questions that can help us move forward as musicians.

Knowing what we enjoy and what excites us helps keep motivation strong, especially on days when practice feels like the last thing you want to do.

Being honest about the areas where we're finding things difficult means we can tackle them head-on together, rather than quietly working around them.

And having a clear sense of what we'd like to achieve gives our practice real direction, meaning and purpose.

You can bring your answers to your next lesson, or send them to me via text or email.

Here we go!

Overall Satisfaction

1. How are you feeling about taking one-to-one lessons in general?

2. Is there anything about lessons that you'd like to change or improve?

3. Do you feel the pace of lessons is right for you — or would you prefer we move faster or slower through new material?

Repertoire & Musical Interests

4. What genres or styles of music would you most like to explore this term? (e.g. classical, jazz, pop, film music, contemporary — feel free to list a few)

5. Are there any specific pieces or songs you've heard recently that you'd love to learn?

6. How do you feel about the pieces we're currently working on — enjoyable, too easy, too challenging, or somewhere in between?

Technique & Learning

7. Which areas of technique do you feel you need the most help with right now? (e.g. hand coordination, scales, sight-reading, dynamics, pedalling, rhythm)

8. Is there a specific skill or concept you've been struggling with and would like to spend more time on?

9. Are there any areas where you feel you've made good progress recently and want to keep building on?

Practice Habits & Organisation

10. How many days per week do you typically manage to practise, and for roughly how long each session?

11. When you sit down to practise, do you feel clear on what to work on, or do you sometimes feel unsure where to start?

12. Would you find it helpful if we spent some lesson time talking through how to structure your practice sessions at home?

13. What tends to get in the way of you practising as much as you'd like?

Motivation & Goals

14. What motivates you most when it comes to practising? (e.g. learning a favourite song, performing for others, personal progress, exams)

15. Is there anything that makes practising feel like a chore and are there ways I could help make it feel more engaging?

16. What's one thing you'd love to achieve by the end of this term?

Thank you so much for taking the time to fill this in — your answers really help me plan lessons that work best for you!

–– Will

Image: Helmer Osslund, ‘Afton vid havet’