The mistake most musicians make when learning new music
A better way to tackle learning new songs or pieces
Includes a guided meditation for musicians and music students.

If you always start learning a new piece from the beginning, you’re not alone. But this approach often leads to an uneven performance, the opening becomes polished through repetition, while the ending remains uncertain. Worse, your practice session may finish on a weak point, leaving you frustrated or unmotivated.
In this video, I suggest a different approach: start from the end. When you learn a piece backwards, you’re always playing into familiar territory and building confidence as you go. You’ll finish each session, and the piece, on stronger footing.
The video ends with a short meditation to help you feel calm, focused, and ready to tackle new music with clarity.
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Many musicians find themselves stuck in a cycle of “productive procrastination” — spending hours reading, watching videos, or buying gear without actually practicing.
Do you ever find yourself zoning out during scales or running out of steam before you get to the hard parts? It’s easy to fall into autopilot when you always do things the same way.
It’s a frustrating feeling: you’re trying to be a good student, but the practice tasks you’re given feel boring, confusing, or disconnected from what you want to play.
Do you avoid the metronome? Feel like it’s out to get you? Many musicians struggle to play along with a metronome — it can feel awkward, frustrating, or even like a personal failure.
Feeling too tired for a full practice session? It’s okay to turn back halfway.
It’s easy to lose momentum when you’re learning a new instrument or returning after a break.
Sometimes internal motivation just isn’t enough, especially if you’re an adult learning an instrument.
When you’re working on a piece that feels too hard, it’s easy to feel stuck or lose confidence. The mountain seems too big, and you can’t imagine ever reaching the top.
If your practice feels tight, tense, or overly mechanical, this exercise is for you.
Do you find it hard to memorise music, lyrics or chords? Or does the thought of playing without the music in front of you send you into a panic? If yes, this is for you.
When we are learning music, especially if we are teaching ourselves, we often just want someone to hand us a method book and tell us exactly what to practice.
We’ve all been there — you hit a mistake in your music practice, cringe, stop, and go back. But if we always stop for every mistake in the practice room, how can we expect to play through them in performance?
If you always start learning a new piece from the beginning, you’re not alone. But this approach often leads to an uneven performance, the opening becomes polished through repetition, while the ending remains uncertain.
Improvisation as a pianist, guitarist, violinist or singer can feel intimidating if you’ve never tried it before. But the first five minutes of your practice session are the perfect time to experiment — you’ve got nothing to lose.
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Do you carry tension in your body when you practice or perform? You’re not alone. Many musicians hold physical tension without realizing it, and that tension can affect your playing, singing, and focus.