What If Consistency Is The Real Talent?

Your music goals are not the problem. The missing piece is the system you run when motivation is low, life is busy, and the work feels too big to start. We dig into a simple but powerful idea: goals don’t fail, systems do. From finishing an album to sharpening your technique, real progress comes from turning a clear vision into small, repeatable daily habits that keep you moving forward.

We talk about why musicians struggle with follow-through, then walk through how to break one “macro” goal into “micro” actions you can actually complete. You’ll hear practical tools like using a timer for focused practice, planning weekly and monthly targets to avoid overwhelm, and building routines that cover the full musician workflow: practice, writing, producing, learning, and music marketing. I also share what it looks like to batch content, give yourself time to edit, and keep learning without trying to reinvent the wheel.

We get honest about a real challenge many creatives face: the craving for novelty and the resistance to repeating what worked yesterday. Finally, we connect consistency to confidence and explain how steady work removes pressure when it’s time to perform, record, or release. You’ll leave with a straightforward challenge: pick one daily habit tied to your music goal and commit to it for seven days.

Subscribe for more practical musician mindset and productivity strategies, share this with a friend who needs momentum, and leave a review. What one habit are you committing to this week?

Youtube Channel: https://youtube.com/@thetonikingexperience7645

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Toni King link: http://www.linktr.ee/toni.king

The Sonic Kingship Art: https://www.rhuffmusic.com/post/it-s-a-big-music-industry-so-where-do-i-fit-in

https://youtube.com/@thetonikingexperience7645

Transcript

Welcome And Set The Tone

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome back everyone to another great episode of Teach One Tuesday podcast. We're going to get into something great today, family. I'm so excited about it as always. But before we do that, y'all know what it is. Let's get into it. Yeah, we're going to get into something great today, and I think it's going to be uh very helpful for everyone who takes in this information. So, from the top, uh from vision to action, turning musical goals or music goals into daily habits. And the core message I want to give today is that goals don't fail, but but systems do. All right. So uh we're going to get into some very key points, man, that I think uh is very important as we continue on in this year with our goals, with our um, you know, with with the uh the goals and specific things that we have in place um that we want to accomplish our accomplishments, uh, that we want to be able to say um that we have acquired at the end of the year or even past the year. All right. So, first up, um why musicians struggle with follow-through? And you know, I'm gonna get into this. Um it's because you don't have a system, you don't have some type of way to make sure that you're getting done what you need to get done. And so um some people, you know, it's funny, some people don't like to do write down daily goals. Um, I would say to each its own, you know, you you should number one, I'll say this have one big goal. So for example, um my album is coming out this year at the end of this year, Kingdom Radio 2. So that's the big goal. So obviously I have to have to uh make that smaller and make them uh so they're bite-sized and so that I don't feel overwhelmed, which at times I do because there's so much to do to get this album done. But what I have to do is think of this on a weekly basis, or or you can think of on a monthly basis, what you want to get, once you want to, what do you want to accomplish um in the month, what you want to accomplish each each week, and what days you're going to be working on uh, you know, your music, and in my case, working on my music, whether it's writing, whether that's laying down tracks, um, whether that's laying down background vocals, whatever stage you're at, you have to turn those things into smaller uh bite size. And that's actually my it was funny, it's actually my my next point. Uh, you have turning big dreams into small daily actions. And so, you know, uh it's it's very important that we that we do this. And, you know, I have found uh in my own life, I have found that this is very effective. Um, this is uh an amazing way to get through um and and yeah, to get through uh what you want to get done. And uh it allows you to have forward motion. Um, one of the things that I do uh when I sit down to practice, or in anything that I do, not always, but but I sit down and I have a timer on. The timer just makes me feel like, you know, okay, this we're we're set aside, we're setting aside 30 minutes or 20 minutes or 45 minutes for this particular thing. If I'm practicing, I'll put a timer on uh usually 20 minutes or 30 minutes, um, and I'll practice whatever it is that I want to practice for that session. It gives me a forward motion. Um, I do have an overall one overall goal, and one of my goals for this year is to get through the Hannon book, the Hannon uh techniques book. Um and so if if if anyone you know has has plays keys and you if you have studied or been around somebody who plays professionally, you've probably heard of the handon book. So that's one of my goals, you know what I mean, to uh get through that book. Every exercise for this year, I want to get through the whole entire book, be able to play through it, and um to be to be able to take my technique to the next level. And so, of course, I have to, so what I did was I um took there's a there's three, yeah, there's three different books within one. And so I'm working through the second book. I believe the exercise starts on number 21 and goes to like 30 something, I believe. Uh um, and so I'm working on the second book right now, just playing through all those exercises, making sure I have everything under my fingers before I move on to the third book. Um, and so, you know, I really want to get this, you know, really want to uh get that down. I want to be able to play through it, you know, in one sitting, or if not, you know, I can take a couple of days, I can take three days. I can I can take one day, um, play through the first book, take the second day, um, play through the second book, and then take the third day and play through the do through the uh third book. Once I have everything under my fingers, I can do that. Or I can take two books in one day. It's it's different ways that I can do it. And so, but I have a plan, right? I have a plan uh that breaks it down for me so it doesn't feel overwhelming. And so this is what I want you to do. I, you know, have the big goal, uh, have the macro, if you will, and then and then uh turn it into micro, make them smaller. Um, and that's really how it's done. It's really, you know, it's a it's not a huge secret, it's not a big deal, you know what I mean? You I'm sure many have heard this before. Um, but it's very important that you take the time to do that. And um, you know, what I've I've learned in life, uh I am uh I'm 38 at this point, and uh I've been playing keys for over 20 years, over 25 years actually. And um, you know, in my experience in life as a musician, as a person that has um gone after certain things, and this is not a this is not a humble brag, I'm just giving an example. Uh a person has gone after several things that I've wanted to accomplish, um it has made sense and it has been proven that planning is so important. Planning is very, very important. I just don't think you can skip over that. As a matter of fact, I'm taking a class right now on orchestration as far as the symphony orchestra is concerned. And so uh one of the things that we're doing right now is actually planning out uh a uh a string quartet piece or or a string section uh piece, right? And we're going through, you know, form, we're going through what what what's the what's the feeling of it, what's the energy, uh, what's gonna be the form of it. Form just means, you know, you have a if it's songwriting, you have a uh intro, you have a verse, you have a chorus. That's what I mean by form, um, different sections. So, you know, what what are the sections gonna be? Um, who's playing the melody in the A section? You know, what are the other strings doing? Um is there a counter melody? We're literally planning out everything, and it's fantastic. And I was it's not that I have it's not that I haven't seen that before, um, but it has been brought back to my remembrance like, oh, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, we have to really plan this thing out, especially the bigger the ensemble is, especially when you get to symphony orchestra, you get to jazz orchestra, you have to plan that stuff out. What who's playing what, where, when, how. Um, and even dynamics, you know, and all that kind of stuff. And it makes the process so much easier. Just trust me on this. It makes the process so much easier. And so um, those are just some examples of how I have utilized uh this technique so that you know that I'm not just I'm not just on here just talking, that you know that what I'm doing, uh what I'm telling you rather, is exactly what I'm doing in my own life. All right. And so uh here we go. The next point habits versus motivation. And, you know, of course, we know that motivation uh is great, motivation is fantastic. You know, I think that motivation and habits play their part, but at the end of the day, it's your habits that's going to allow you to uh experience the success that you want to experience. It's gonna be the habits. It's going to be, you know, uh your grit. It's gonna be that thing in you that says, okay, I don't feel like, you know, maybe if you're a dancer, no, I don't feel like, you know, uh creating a routine today, or I don't feel like, you know, if you're a producer, I don't feel like writing tracks today. It's gonna be that thing in you that's the and that habit that's gonna say, I know, we don't we don't feel like doing it, but let's get to it, let's make it happen. And so I want to encourage you to, so here's what I'll say. You know, it's yes, you can it's habits versus uh motivation. I would lean on habits all day long. But here's what I would say I would say use both. Um, but I would say rely so much more on your habits, have your habits in place and also have the thing that you want to accomplish. Make sure that you can see that. Actually, I need to do that myself. I have my goals written down, I have my overall goal written down, but I need to put it somewhere where it's right in front of me on a daily basis, and I can look at, okay, this is what I want to do, this is what I want to accomplish. Um, this is what I'm what I'm what I want to make happen. Um, and that's you know, it's a very powerful thing to do. Uh, next up, building routines for practice, writing, producing, and marketing. Um, you know, this is very, very important. I know that we are living in a time where, um, I guess I'm starting with the marketing. We're we're living in a time where we have social media, we have all these tools. Um, a lot, a lot of these platforms are are saturated. You know, there's so much going on. So I would say do your homework. You know, I could suggest some books as well that you can read to help you to stand out, because that's really uh the biggest, one of the biggest things is how to stand out. It's it's it's very, very important. And so what I do as far as routines is concerned, um, as far as that part is I I uh post, I do my videos one week. I I what I meant to say was I record my videos um one week and uh put every you know, do my podcast, do my videos, and uh, and then I take the time to uh edit those videos, edit my podcast. So I give myself a week to get this done so I'm not rushing. So that's my that's my routine. Um and this and the same thing, you know what? Uh I'll say this. Uh I need to do better with my producing, with you know, because I'm working on my album. You know, you you go through that thing where you know you're doing something, and it's like, man, I need to get this done. And I had to remember, I had to remind myself to to break things down myself. And I'm glad that I can share that with you. That yeah, I have to remember myself to break things down, because thinking about everything all at once can really be overwhelming and you end up doing nothing. So create that routine, uh uh break those things down for your writing, for your producing. Um, and even I'll add one to this, even for your learning. If you're learning about um, you know, if you're learning a new technique, if you're if you want to brush up on uh your songwriting, if you're taking a class, which I do uh suggest and encourage you to do, it doesn't have to be a class, but you can get a book, you can look at a you can look at videos. Always put yourself in a position where you can learn something new. Always. It's always because there are people who have done it before you. So, you know, you don't have to reinvent the will, as they say, you don't have to try to take it on by yourself. No, go and and look at some stuff uh and learn and grow. But have a routine, have a if it's weekly, if it's bi-weekly, you know, how however you want to do it, just make sure you have that in place. Now, the the the thing that I run into, if I'm being honest with you, and I don't know if this is just a mind that I have, I have a different mind. But there are times where it's hard to go back and do the same thing you did either the day before or the week before. I don't know why it is a battle for me. I'm just gonna be honest with you all. It is a battle to just go back. I don't know what it is. It's just something just like, oh, you know, for some reason, I've, you know, there my mind wants something new, wants novelty every single time. And and so I have to, you know, work uh I don't want to say work around it, but work with it so that I'm able to go back, I'm able to continue to to work on the things I need to work on. And I've gotten better with that, but that's just that has been a challenge. Uh that has been a challenge for me, and I wanted to share that with you because I don't want to come off as if everything is always honky-dory, everything is always going as planned, and everything is just perfect. No, it's not the truth. I have uh challenges myself as well, and so I want to share those with you to know that you are not alone in what you're facing and reaching your goals. Uh, and then last but not least, why pressure why consistency removes pressure. Um, it's very important to be consistent with what you're doing, uh, because after a while, you know, uh you will see your growth and you're also, yes, it removes that pressure. So, for example, if I, you know, when I was an undergraduate, I had recitals uh because I studied jazz. And so, you know, I practiced, you know, went over my music, you know, listened to the music, you know, did everything I needed to do. So by the time I got on stage, you know, everything was pretty much second nature. It was in my fingers. I didn't have to think about it too much. Um, there was still a level of pressure and nervousness. I think that's just natural. You know what I mean? For anybody who performs or does whatever, um, you know, that sometimes that pressure is still there and you know, that anxiety is still there, but we can work through that. But the more you the more you are consistent in working on those skills, working on those things, the less pressure um that you will experience or can experience. And also it's about frame of mind, you know, what whatever you're thinking about, make sure you're sure to think in the right way, not putting too much pressure on yourself. I think a little, I think a little pressure is good, but not putting too much pressure on yourself. And um, I think that that will allow you to be even more confident when you're performing or whatever, you're speaking, dancing, you know, whatever it is you're doing if you're in front of people, give you that confidence. And so this is what I want you to do. Choose one daily habit, connected to your music goal, and commit and committed uh to it for seven days, you know, and this is a great way to um this is a great way actually to to strengthen um creating habits and sticking to them. Uh, I'll give you I'll give you one that I did. When I was in uh grad school, um I wanted my ears to be better, my ear training. I just wanted the next level of my ear training. I realized that if I wanted to be a great musician, a big part of that, not the only part, but a big part of that is being able to hear. And so I did ear training for about three years. I did ear training pretty much every day. If I if I missed a day, then I just did two sessions the next day. And I did that for about three years because I was just very hungry to to take my ears to the next level um and to be able to, you know, pretty much be able to know what I'm listening to on a relative level. And so, you know, I stuck with that and I accomplished that. It wasn't forever, but for three years I did that. And I think two or three years, I did that. And and and it paid um to it really paid in dividends um and compounded over over time. So I'm glad that I did that. So I want to encourage you to get one thing and stick to it for a smaller amount of time, not for two years, but a smaller amount of time, seven days, and stick with it. Here's uh what I want you to do also. Um uh uh yeah, here's what I want you to do. So last but not least, consistency start small. Come back the week at the next as we talk about showing up, why showing up matters more than talent. And uh, that's a very important point. Do me a favor, family. Uh before we go, make sure that you are checking me out on all on all uh social media, not all of them, but uh most streaming or not streaming, most uh social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Threads, uh LinkedIn, uh, where I'm releasing my content. I'm really still doing my covers on there, and uh, I am I am now uh offering my services as an engineer, mixing and mastering, and so you can contact me on here, or you can contact me uh uh on the social media platforms, you can DM me uh as well. And so, in many ways, you can contact me. Also, go and check out my music, uh, go and check out Kingdom Radio, the first one, because Kingdom Radio 2 is coming out this year, and I'm very excited about that. All right, I want to thank you so much for checking this out. I hope you're having a wonderful day. If you're not having a wonderful day, you can change that by your mindset. Thanks so much for looking out,