A student's main Quest is a long journey - months or years of steady progress toward mastery.

But music isn't always a straight line, and some of the best moments in a student's musical life happen off the main road. That's what a Side Quest is for.

What is a Side Quest?

A Side Quest is a shorter quest a student takes on alongside their main Quest - either in tandem with it or as a brief, intentional departure from it. There's nothing special to turn on: students in Musician Quest can hold more than one active quest at a time, so a Side Quest is simply a second, shorter quest assigned the same way as any other.

What makes it a Side Quest is how you design and use it: it's compact, it has a clear finish line, and it exists to serve a specific moment in the student's journey rather than their whole musical education.

When to reach for a Side Quest

Some situations where a Side Quest shines:

• Exploring a new style or genre. A rock guitarist who's curious about fingerstyle. A classical pianist who wants to try jazz. A short quest lets them taste something new without abandoning their main path.

• A technique deep dive. Two or three levels focused entirely on one skill area - bends and vibrato, sight reading, pedaling, improvisation - that the main Quest touches but doesn't dwell on.

• Recital or audition prep. A focused quest that walks a student through choosing repertoire, polishing it, performing it for the camera, and finally performing it for real. When the event is over, the quest is complete - a natural, satisfying ending.

• Seasonal projects. Holiday repertoire, a summer songwriting challenge, a themed studio event.

• Re-engagement. A student who's stalled on their main Quest sometimes just needs a fresh map. A short, winnable Side Quest can rebuild momentum that carries back into the main journey.

Designing a good Side Quest

A Side Quest should feel different from the main Quest, not like a second helping of the same thing.

• Keep it short. One to three levels is the sweet spot. If it's growing past that, it might really be a main Quest.

• Give it a clear destination. The best Side Quests end with something concrete: a performance, a recording, a finished composition, a recital. The student should be able to see the finish line from the starting line.

• Give it its own identity. Name the levels with the same care you'd give a main Quest. "Audition Ready" feels like an adventure; "Extra Skills 1" does not.

• Lean evidence-friendly. Side Quests are a great place for video-rich skills - the whole point is often to capture the student doing something new and share it home.

How it works mechanically

Nothing new to learn here - a Side Quest is a standard quest:

1. Create and build the quest in the Quest Editor, then publish it.

2. Assign the teacher to the quest so it appears in their assignable list.

3. Assign it to the student. Their main Quest stays exactly where it is.

Each of the student's quests tracks its own progress, and family progress emails reflect activity on whichever quest the student worked on. From the family's side, a Side Quest reads as what it is: their musician doing something extra and exciting.

A few guardrails

• One Side Quest at a time. The point is focus, not sprawl. A student juggling three quests is a student making slow progress on all of them.

• Decide what happens to the main Quest. In tandem (a little of both each week) and full departure (pause the main Quest work until the Side Quest is done) both work - just make the choice deliberately, and make sure the student and family understand it.

• Come back to the main road. When the Side Quest is complete, celebrate it - then point the student back at their main Quest with the momentum they've just built.