Preconception: an opinion about something that you form before you have a lot of information about it or experience of it
-Macmillan Dictionary
We spend a great amount of time believing, talking about, and even trying to convince others about ideas that we really haven’t explored for ourselves. One of the most important of these for musicians is our method of learning and practice. (That is, if we actually have one.) Operating with the wrong information can prevent progress and cause us to become discouraged.
Are We There Yet?
Trying to learn a piece when the only reward we can imagine is the completed product causes us to rush to the finish line. The assumption here is that it will take a certain, expected amount of time to achieve results. Even in the face of new information, we still try to plough through to the end. I can’t tell you how many times I have had students ask me: “how long will it take for me to learn this?” My answer is usually another question: “Are you trying to decide if it is worth your time to do this?”
In other words, we are already planning our next move, with the skill we are learning already in our pocket, ready to go. The fact is, sometimes things take longer than we expect. The key word here is expect. Oddly enough, it is these very expectations that keep us from our much-anticipated closure; plus, in our blind rush to completion, there is a world of unexpected discovery along the way.
Fear of Zero
I am not a drummer (Though I do play one on TV) and a while back I decided to learn a couple of advanced latin patterns on the drum set, simply because I thought it would be fun and interesting. Because I have no training or experience on drums, I assumed nothing about how easy it would be, or how long it would take; instead I started with just the first notes, repeating them until I could feel the muscle memory. It took days for me to be able to execute the pattern using all four limbs.
I actually found out later that these patterns often stump and frustrate some of our drum students. Rather than proving what a great drummer I am (I’m not) this simply shows what the drum students refuse to do: break it all the way down to nothing. Their assumptions about what they ought to be able to learn are actually preventing them from learning. I, on the other hand, have nothing to prove to myself about my previous abilities.
Here and Now
Another student, in a piano lesson, was learning a new scale form. In this case the fingering for the scale in the key of D. I told him to practice the scale, in this one key, as if it was the only musical skill he needed to complete his study forever. Once this scale was learned, he was done.
His next question: “Will this D scale help me learn the scale in other keys?”
Before even beginning, he was projecting forward to the next thing to work on, counting the time before all his scales were learned. It might seem like a good idea to think ahead and plan for the next challenge; mostly it is, but not when we practice.
Move along…Nothing to See/Hear
“I practice all day and I’m not getting better!”
This is false. Practice works; again there is an assumption about what practice is that stands in the way. Often we practice with an imaginary (or real) audience listening. This will always cause us to chose to sound good. Of course that means we will play the things we already know, and we will attempt to play complete pieces. Almost nobody is completely free of vanity, so this approach will always fail.
My Favorite Mistake
We also expect to practice without errors; much like the imaginary audience mentioned above, we want to hear ourselves play correctly. Generally, a perfect performance of a new piece will be just good luck, and the next time we will not be so fortunate. Mistakes are a signal of unfinished work, and they are measurements of the strenghth of our training. Is an unfinished building with the framework exposed a mistake? Of course not. The only real mistake would be to leave it unfinished.
Uncommon Practice
1. When you begin a new piece, look for the most challenging areas and begin to develop them. Do not skip the steps needed to make them correct, such as fingering etc.
2. If you have a goal, don’t worry about the time-line. Michel Camilo, a great jazz pianist, was quoted as saying “Most pianists give up too easily”when discussing his amazing technique. If somebody can do it, it must be possible.
3. Assume nothing about your abilities when you practice; this means anything that comes easily will be a gift. Break things down all the way to the bottom.
4. Practice each small thing as if it was the only thing in the world. Cultivate a deep focus on now. Pay no attention to the next thing. This will benefit a lot of things in your mental world. If you find yourself worrying or planning, set aside some time for this and do it to the fullest. Then when those thoughts intrude on your focus, remind yourself that you have already been there.
5. Do not worry about sounding good when you practice. This is counter to the purpose of what you are doing. Avoid listeners, external or internal. Do not perform; that is rehearsal, not practice.
6. Observe mistakes and correct them. See practice as the construction of your skills, not as the fixing of a problem. If you find a mistake is repeating itself, use your problem-solving skills to diagnose it; it could be a techical issue like fingering, or simply the premature attempt to perform. Nobody tries to cross an unfinished bridge.
