Tips for Studying (Muso Edition) – Nicole

As a musician in first year, things can be hard as assignments gets difficult each time, practising becomes more frequent, studies gets more intense each time, or just basically struggling with everything else. If you’re struggling at the moment, all I could say is, “hang on tight, you’re almost there”. You’re not alone. We’re all on the same boat. In fact, everyone in the whole uni is possibly on the same boat (struggling with everything else), and it’s okay if you’re struggling. If you’re struggling or stressing now, take a break, reenergise yourself, go for a run or walk to cleanse yourself. It’s really important to keep yourself cool and collected. Here’s some tips for surviving your studies for our upcoming tests, technical exam or your breadth subjects!

1. CATCH UP ON YOUR LECTURES

If you missed out on a few on that subject, that’s fine. If you missed out on more than 5, that’s okay. If you missed out on more than 10 on that subject, what on Earth were you doing during Semester 1 or that week?!?! If you can cram this week, that’s awesome, but make sure you take a break in between your watched lectures. You need to consolidate at least 30 minutes, in order to get into your Long-Term Memory. If you missed out on 10 lectures, you might as well watch the lectures – listening and watching is a 50% chance of going into your LTM, writing out notes is 3% chance into your LTM apparently.

Just do what works for you, but there’s stats for doing ‘smarter’ studying as they say.

2. ORGANISE YOUR SCHEDULE

Here’s how I schedule my week/day:

Write/type all lectures, tutorials, extra-curriculum and shifts/events
Write out a list you need to do (such as assignments, or job-related things)
The spare hours/break – that where you put in study/practise time
Commit to the schedule
Repeat

Having a typical schedule is what gets you going, in routine wise. It’s a great way to get into a good habit of studying, practising and ect.

For ‘To Do Lists’ make sure you list from 1 to how many assignments you have due in the following week. For instance, I had four assignments due this week (2 Music Language assignments, Art of Piano Teaching Essay and WAM Written Assignment).

Music Language and WAM assignment is due on the same day (Thursday). However, Art of Piano Teaching is due on Tuesday, and I didn’t start in my AOPT Essay last week (oopsy daisy). Therefore, my priority list looks like this…

1. Art of Piano Teaching Assignment
2. Music Language Assignment 8
3. Music Language Assignment 9
4. WAM Written Assignment

You get the jist after that; you make time for those assignments, you make an estimate on how much time you need, etc.

3. BE DETERMINED AND GIVE IT YOUR ALL WHEN DOING YOUR ASSIGNMENTS and PRACTISES

It’s the same when you do training for a particular sports – 100% effort with hard core concentration and focus.

By now, we should now lock in what we’re going to express in our performance, practise for our semester two pieces (for pianists), and polishing up our damn technical syllabus. I highly suggest (for pianists, or other musicians, if they know their syllabus for semester two) to pick and practise your pieces ASAP! Four to five pieces into a 45 minute lesson is not much. So, it’s going to be spread out throughout your lesson, and I would expected that be a little difficult to be structured in one lesson.

I’ve already started practising for my Semester Two pieces since Week 8. So, pretty much straight after I finished my AMEB Grade 7 exams. It was hard practising eight pieces altogether (duo piece + AMEB Grade 8/Semester Two pieces + Technical Exam pieces and syllabus). But I’m getting through it just fine, as my practises are well organised and structured.

4. NEED HELP ON UNDERSTANDING SOMETHING? ASK YOUR FRIENDS, TUTORS, AND GOOGLE.

5. MAKE A GOAL/ACHIEVEMENT AND REWARD YOURSELF WITH IT

Finish your assignment? Have a cookie
Finish two paragraphs of your 1000 assignment? Have another cookie
Finish an intense practise? Have another cookie
Finish 4 hours of practise? Oh you guessed it! Have a coffee. HA! Got you! Jokes, have another cookie. Hahahaha.

5. BELIEVE YOU CAN DO IT

Believe. Bellliieevveee! Belieevvveeee.
*Shows Melbourne Uni’s motto*
Everybody, remember! Belieeevvveeee. Hahahahahaha. Oh I’m having too much fun with this.

One final note to end this blog post – I learnt how to deal with heavy workloads, stress, emotional roller coasters during Year 12. Therefore, I knew how to organise myself, and deal with all shenanigans from my subjects. In a nutshell, a lot happened in one year, and I’m glad I got through those crappy moments and learnt what worked, and what didn’t worked. So, relating what worked for you (e.g organisation, study tips) during Year 12 is great to apply for your studies now.

I remember so clearly when my past piano teacher told me about what’s going to happen when I study at Melbourne Uni during first year. I braced myself for the worst on stress, and workload when I got accepted into Melbourne Uni. Throughout this semester, I had struggled at some stages, but I knew it’s okay to feel that way. First semester into Uni can be hard sometimes, and that’s okay. 🙂

Everyone (First Year, Bach. of Music) still have two more assignments to do (Music Language and Writing About Music), or probably have three more (based on their Breadth subject). We’re so excited, but slightly sobbing through it as it’s a little difficult. Dear god help us. But it’s okay. We’re all one big family. We’ll all get through this together, and we’ll all finish together at the finish line.

Cues ‘We’re All in This Together’. Hahahahaha.

Music suggestion for this post? Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar