Practicing. Believe me, this is something we know about because over the years we've tried everything, and if we didn't try it, I daresay one of our students has. Mary once figured out how to read a book while playing a piece she’d memorized (awesome time management skills eh?). After a few days of this, her family asked why the piece she was working on sounded like it was getting worse every day instead of better. Peter had an even better idea. He and his brother invented imaginary practice. They’d come home from school, watch TV, and then both report they had done their practicing when their parents got home. Unfortunately for Peter (despite a vow of secrecy) his brother spilled the beans on their revolutionary new method. Peter got grounded until he managed to actualize all those hours of imaginary practice. Over the years we've tried all kinds of things, slouchy postures (that’s Peter), doing it the easy way (that was Peter too), wishing really hard (mostly Peter), convincing ourselves our teacher was just kidding about that, (definitely Peter), fiddling around instead of playing the piece we were supposed to be working on (Peter), checking out what the worst sounds were the instrument could make (Peter), staring off into space (Peter), etc… (Peter - seems like there’s a theme here).
Any way with all that experimentation we've finally gotten good at practice and we have some good news. There are ways to practice that not only work, but seriously cut down on the amount of time it takes to learn a piece. You’re reading this so we’ll assume you want to get good. Really good. Championship winning good. Awesome! This blog is for you. I daresay we know a bit about championships having won a few (even Peter despite all that practicing kerfuffle we mentioned above). But the real truth is that we've lost far more than we've ever won. Behind each lovely blue ribbon is a whole string of lesser ribbons (and sometimes a long string of no ribbons at all). You can’t get to the blue ribbon without climbing the ladder it’s at the top of. You have to start where you are at.
One thing about Championship. We think the whole idea of a single winner is misguided. We've played in enough championships to know that while there is sometimes one player who is clearly better than all the others, more often there is a pool of 5-10 monster players who are all so good it’s impossible to choose. So don’t let a “loss” get you down. You didn't “lose” at all. If anything, you gained experience. The only way you lose musically is if you get injured and can’t play or refuse to seize the day and don’t take an opportunity to perform. The rest is all a win, and big or little, wins add up. Here’s a recipe for winning a championship.
Championship is NOT about “winning.” Sure it’s nice to get recognition, and if you keep showing up, recognition in some form will eventually show up for you, but don’t try to tell the universe what that recognition has to look like. Just take aim at what you want and get going. Odds are that the stuff that’s in that direction, whether you hit the bull’s eye or not, will be pretty satisfying.
Oh… and don’t worry. There will be plenty of tips to come, so stay tuned. Here’s a spoiler though: Imaginary Practice™ doesn't work.
Any way with all that experimentation we've finally gotten good at practice and we have some good news. There are ways to practice that not only work, but seriously cut down on the amount of time it takes to learn a piece. You’re reading this so we’ll assume you want to get good. Really good. Championship winning good. Awesome! This blog is for you. I daresay we know a bit about championships having won a few (even Peter despite all that practicing kerfuffle we mentioned above). But the real truth is that we've lost far more than we've ever won. Behind each lovely blue ribbon is a whole string of lesser ribbons (and sometimes a long string of no ribbons at all). You can’t get to the blue ribbon without climbing the ladder it’s at the top of. You have to start where you are at.
One thing about Championship. We think the whole idea of a single winner is misguided. We've played in enough championships to know that while there is sometimes one player who is clearly better than all the others, more often there is a pool of 5-10 monster players who are all so good it’s impossible to choose. So don’t let a “loss” get you down. You didn't “lose” at all. If anything, you gained experience. The only way you lose musically is if you get injured and can’t play or refuse to seize the day and don’t take an opportunity to perform. The rest is all a win, and big or little, wins add up. Here’s a recipe for winning a championship.
- Prepare.
- Show up.
- Repeatedly.
Championship is NOT about “winning.” Sure it’s nice to get recognition, and if you keep showing up, recognition in some form will eventually show up for you, but don’t try to tell the universe what that recognition has to look like. Just take aim at what you want and get going. Odds are that the stuff that’s in that direction, whether you hit the bull’s eye or not, will be pretty satisfying.
Oh… and don’t worry. There will be plenty of tips to come, so stay tuned. Here’s a spoiler though: Imaginary Practice™ doesn't work.
Young Peter, in a moment where he is doing something other than Imaginary Practice™
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Young Mary hard at work. And yeah... there's a book over there :)
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Peter and Mary are award winning instrumentalists and songwriters. They perform together as Otter Creek and teach out of their home studio in Salt Lake City Utah. Information on lessons, coaching sessions (also available via skype), booking, session work, and educational outreach are available on their website (which you’re probably at if you’re reading this. How cool is that!).
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