When confronting a task, it is common for people to describe it as “difficult,” or “hard.” While superficially valid, these labels do little to move us toward completion. In fact, they may lead us in the wrong direction. Let’s re-examine our concept of “difficulty.”
Here are some problems we can get into when we think of something as “hard.”
- “Difficult” is a vague and monolithic concept, and doesn’t tell us what to do. Without specific direction, we can flounder.
- Labeling a task in this way gives us an excuse to procrastinate; we may even seek confirmation from others on how hard something is, in order to give ourself permission to back out.
- The prophecy of difficulty will fulfill itself if we do get started. We will find what we expect to find.
Difficulty Versus Quantity
A lot of things we consider hard are really just numerous. In other words, more is not difficult.
Imagine a pile of bricks on a pallet. They need to be moved. Picking up the entire pallet would be difficult: it would likely be too heavy for a single person, and would overwhelm our muscles. Now imagine picking up a single brick. Easy, right? Now moving the bricks is a matter of time, not of strength. Moving the bricks one at a time illustrates the idea of quantity.
- Learning all your scales isn’t difficult, it’s just more.
- Learning a complex piece isn’t hard, it’s just going to take longer.
- A whole set of music isn’t harder than a single song, it’s just a larger amount of work.
Learning to slow down and accept a larger task for what it is gives us power.
The Unknown
Other tasks that appear difficult are actually just unfamiliar. When we don’t understand something, we feel less comfortable. As an example, learning a paragraph in English would be easier than learning the same paragraph in Spanish. (assuming you don’t speak Spanish) When we accept that what we are confronting is simply new to us, we can have a strategy to make it effortless. It is not difficult on an absolute scale, just in our personal experience.
- Playing in front of a large crowd is no more difficult than for a small group; we simply may not be familiar with this situation.
- A new passage is no harder than something we have performed for years, it’s just new.
- Something that is done by thousands or even millions of people is probably not that hard; it’s just new to us.
Real Difficulty
Things that cannot be broken into smaller tasks, given the appropriate amount of time, or that are beyond human ability are truly hard. These are relatively rare, especially in music.
- Trying to do an enormous task in one pass with unrealistically short time.
- Being in a completely unfamiliar situation without the ability to take it at a reasonable pace.
- Doing things that push the limits of physical or mental limits.
Make it Simple
Seeing things as more or new, rather than as hard can dispel the myth of difficulty.
- Break large tasks into smaller ones, and again into even smaller ones until the difficulty becomes quantity.
- When possible, be realistic about the time needed for these tasks. When there is limited time, take on a reasonable amount.
- Realize that unfamiliar things can become familiar, and don’t be intimidated by new things.
Questions:
Do you often classify things as “hard” when they are really just unfamiliar?
Do you break large tasks down sufficiently to make them possible and reasonable?
Do you mistake quantity for difficulty and become overwhelmed?
