Using Wunderlist to organize my practice time

[johngdon]

Once upon a time in my work life I started using index cards to track tasks, but then I moved to the Wunderlist app. I was contemplating starting to use index cards to organize my mando practice — putting one song name on each card and then rotating through them on some regular basis so my repertoire doesn’t get rusty — but then I decided to use Wunderlist instead.

I made a “Mandolin” list and then listed each song as a task. I start practice, look at the list and play one of the songs on the list and then check it off. As I proceed through the week, I check off which songs I’ve practiced (and hopefully don’t leave any out). For the next week, I show the “completed to do items” and then just uncheck the songs to put them back on the active list.

I can also link the task to PDFs, videos and mp3s. I open the Red Haired Boy task and in it is a link to Mandolessons play along video. Super quick! I could also link it to a pdf of the music/tab if I wanted rather than spend time searching for it on my computer.

In addition to the songs I’ve also added tasks for practice items like “dominant 7th chords” and “improvise in G.”

I already use Wunderlist everyday for work and for home tasks, so opening and using Wunderlist is second nature for me.

Anyone else have any tips for organizing your practice time — electronic or otherwise?

[Mark Gunter]

Anyone else have any tips for organizing your practice time — electronic or otherwise?

I don't have any tips, but I am interested in the question. I've been contemplating developing my own database at my website tailored to my own studies and interests for mandolin, guitar, ukulele and piano - but that would mean a lot of time writing and tweaking code, etc. and I'm not sure I'm up for it.

I've never heard of this wunderlust, so I looked up their website, but FireFox wouldn't load it. Says the SSL certificate is no good for the site.

[Carl23]

Here's one I use occasionally.
https://abstractspoon.weebly.com/
Bit of a learning curve, easy out of the box, but tricky as you add possibilities.

Organize by various categories. You can set expected time, as well as tracking time spent.

You can set tasks to repeat at intervals so that you can keep a "refresh list" that comes up every month/quarter/year/custom.

I've used it to organize songs by key/time sig/etc (customize-able fields).
I've used it mostly for Marimba music, but will start using it for Mandolin once I have enough stuff to work on.

C

[foldedpath]

I'm using a hybrid digital + paper approach. I have a list of tune names I'm currently working on in the Google "Keep Notes" app on my android phone. That's convenient for a reminder before practicing. I can also add a quick note at an Irish session if there's a tune I want to learn. Then I do some research for "which version" in our home music library, and searching through the tune database at thesession.org. When I figure out the setting, I save it on my computer as a PDF file, and print out a copy. Or two copies if it's a tune my fiddler S.O. wants to learn.

Then I take the sheet music to our practice room. I could use my phone to link to the PDF file over the home network, but I prefer working from printed sheet music. It's easier on my aging eyes, and doesn't require AC power or battery charge. For a recorded reference of the tune, or if I'm learning by ear instead of the dots, I can link to our home digital music library with my phone when practicing.

At one time I did try going all-digital with an iPad for displaying PDF files, but it required special formatting of the PDF, and didn't work with longer tunes without scrolling (like those exasperating 5-part pipe tunes). Just too much trouble formatting and importing to the iPad. Printed sheet music now clutters up a table, two music stands, and a few piles on the floor in our practice room, but I still find it easier to deal with.

[Mark Gunter]

I am "addicted" to paper myself, and have numerous binders as well as loose sheet music, and a few books, that I use.

I need to get away from that, and have no idea exactly how I'm going to do it yet. My assumption is that I'll need an iPad or other tablet device, as a phone screen is too small for me and a laptop is oriented in a landscape mode and not suitable for a music stand.

Surely there is a less difficult way of dealing with formatting than what foldedpath has experienced? I hope so. I plan to spend a great deal of time mobile, living in a camper, beginning sometime in the next few years, and dragging binders of paper around will be totally impractical.

[foldedpath]

Mark, one solution for going all-digital is to forego any of the more portable solutions, and just keep a desktop computer and monitor in your practice area. Or a laptop with a large enough screen if you need the computer in another area as well.

I can read PDF sheet music easily on the computer I'm typing this post on right now, full page and clear on a 24" widescreen monitor in my home office. No need for special formatting of the PDF,'s. I only had to do that to squeeze it into the iPad's smaller display area. Keep your music folders in digital format on the computer, along with your audio files for reference.

I just don't want a computer in our practice room/library since it has a cozy, analog vibe. And the office here isn't a great place to practice.

[Carl23]

I mark my music up too much to be all digital (that and I am also addicted to paper... doesn't need power)

However I do a lot of my organization digitally. I usually have PDFs of my music, and I re-notate a lot into musescore.

C

[Mark Gunter]

I much prefer paper sheets for many reasons, and I suspect that losing them to digital will be one of the more painful compromises I have to make when going mobile.

[foldedpath]

I much prefer paper sheets for many reasons, and I suspect that losing them to digital will be one of the more painful compromises I have to make when going mobile.

Well, keep in mind that going digital with all those sheets is "fungible" (to use a term normally applied to petroleum markets). You can organize them in folders on the computer, and they can still be printed out as sheet music any time you need dots on paper.

Just make sure you know how to do good backups for digital files. If you're not completely sure about that, print out the sheets in binders to stash away somewhere. The only big risk with going digital is not being 100% sure you have a good backup routine.

[johngdon]

For now, anyway, I still have a binder, too. I practice at my desk and use my iPad and sometimes my laptop, so the paper isn’t that essential, but I do use it, especially for new stuff. I do find the iPad works fine for pdf...if I were following a full sheet of music there is the scrolling issue, but I’m usually just working with short enough sections not to need to scroll.

But the real value I’m finding in using Wunderlist is that I am working systematically through my repertoire. Nothing gets left out just because I forgot. And when I am working on a song in my repertoire, I have quick access to the sheet music, a backing track, etc, and I’m finding that I am doing better quality practice — developing my playing of a song, not just recalling it.

Also, I’ve added 15 or so additional Wunderlist tasks like “bluegrass fills in C” and “minor pentatonic scales.” I have some accompanying PDFs from having taken a Matt Flinner course (love Matt Flinner!) and also the Peghead Nation music theory class with Chad Manning (can’t recommend that highly enough, BTW, if you are new to music like I am). Basically I took each of his lessons and made a task so that I review that lesson.

[JonZ]

Lists are adequate for learning new skills, but fall short for maintaining the perpetually growing collection of skills you must maintain.

You might want to look at a digital flash card program, like Anki. The primary difference from a To Do list is that you rate how well you know an item—fail, hard, good, easy—and the next practice is scheduled accordingly.

I make cards for sections of tunes, rather than whole tunes, because every section needs different amounts of practice.

[Bill McCall]

I’ve used a spreadsheet for a few years. Tasks are columns, rows for day, morning and night. I do rotate practice it’s in and out, as new skills/knowledge come to light. Have a space for jam time as well, so I keep track of all the time I play, not that I do anything with that��.

Doesn’t work well for repetoire tracking so I’ll have to think about that.