I’m a sucker for getting better.
And if you’re reading this, I bet you are too.
The one thing I’ve spent more time doing than anything is playing music. I started taking guitar lessons at 13, played in various jazz bands in high school, spent my undergrad Berklee College of Music, and will continue my studies at Longy School of Music this September for my master’s. In between, I had eight years of voice lessons and continued taking guitar lessons with Lyle Brewer and Eric Hofbauer.
Like I said, I’m a sucker for getting better at stuff. Especially music.
If there’s one thing I regret from all the time I’ve spent taking lessons, it’s not recording my lessons sooner.
The first time I started recording my lessons was when I started taking voice lessons in 2013. That undoubtedly sped up my progress as a singer. I still go back and listen to those lessons for reference or when I feel like I’m in a rut. It’s also cool to have an archive to revisit and be like, “Wow! Look at where I started and where I’m at now!”
But it’s not enough to record your lessons. You need to listen to them and take notes. Or, as we say in music, transcribe.
Why do I listen back and transcribe my lessons? These days, I could have an AI scribe listen in and write it out for me. But as a musician, listening is kind of important. Sure, the AI choice might be faster, but it’s not going to be as helpful.
Listening back to my lessons:
Shows me my mistakes
Reinforces what I learned
Reminds me what I need to practice
Allows me to hear what my teacher did
Allows me to hear what I need to work on
Shows me all the helpful stuff that went in one ear and out the other
We can only take in so much information at once. This is why we’re encouraged to take notes in school.
While you may not be in school, when you’re taking lessons of any kind, you’re in a learning environment.
And instead of wondering, “What did my teacher tell me?” If you record your lessons, the nuggets of information won’t be lost forever.