Part I
What is really going on?
Part II
Any ideas what to do about it?
Part III
Calibration, applying deliberate practice to your deliberate practice.
Postlogue
The Practice Journey (The Learney) and long term development
…in answer to these questions from a Practiclass
- I've been playing since I was a kid, why am I not farther along?
- How much time will it take until I can play something well in front of people?
- How much practice time is needed each day?
Part III
When will I be good enough to play in public competently and without crippling fear?
Well, now that we have some answers this has wrapped up quite nicely, don’t you think? All nice and neat, now let’s go for some tea and crumpets while we discuss the intercoastal waterway funding bi…, wha, wait, what was that? A roadblock in front of us?
Email from one of you:
“Playing easier music to a high standard is something I’m trying to embrace at the moment, but the dreaded ego keeps trying to throw me off course!”
Wait a sec. Aren’t we already lessening the load and doing ‘easier’ music? We don’t expect to go out and give a full concert like the artist who wrote the songs. We don’t expect to be able to sound exactly like them at this time. We know we probably won’t be able to play some things as fast as the artist and we are OK with that. We just want to go out, have fun and do a decent job making some music in front of others. No big ego bruise, right?
The current problem seems to be something like “See, I’m not expecting too much, I just want to play reasonably well, not professionally, and I can’t even do that! Why won’t this ever work? What is wrong with me?”
What makes us think we have chosen tasks that are easy enough? What do we know about teaching music? What do we know about evaluating the many and nuanced areas of difficulty that arise in learning a particular piece? What information leads us to believe that we should be able to master this because it is easy enough?
And where did we get the idea that a certain amount of time is ‘enough’, and that we have already put that in?
And it is on this hodgepodge of a foundation that we base our evaluation and become frustrated with our progress.
This is good news!!!!! Maybe the frustration isn’t necessary. There is more information we can acquire, and things we can fix!
Maybe our conclusion that ‘we just can’t get it’ is wrong! Maybe there is something else at work! Maybe we need to investigate what we think is easy enough. Remember the song advice from part II?
Now it is time for what some researchers call calibration – you’ve worked on it, you are applying some of the things from cognitive science. You’ve seen improvement.
Now calibrate your work with the signals you are getting from your performance. It is working, or should it change?
Is the practice room improvement translating to the stage?
This is the act of doing deliberate practice on our deliberate practice.
If we
- have good guidance/instruction on our instrument (lessons, or online investigation),
- and we learn how learning works like I’m showing you in the Practiclasses
- while following directions from our teacher/source material
- and practicing regularly
If yes, then our performance problem is either one of two things.
1. We don’t yet know how to truly apply all of the cognitive science in our practice, or even enough of it, to achieve this easier task.
i. Start studying closely, make a goal of learning the process one thing at a time (I’ve got a nice set of quick-start documents here. Take the time (few weeks or months) doing a lot of this and progress along, and your practice will evolve.
That is how people who get really good develop. They learn about and try things in their practice, and cobble together an understanding of some of the good interventions for learning over the course of many years. What you are learning about the cog sci will save you a lot of time that they wasted looking for the solutions. A short period of really close study will do you wonders.
ii. Get coaching and do that faster and better. Sorry, but that is the proper answer here.
2. You’ve chosen something too difficult.
Don’t keep doing that! Find something easier in the ways I suggested in part II.
Six months from now is coming six months from now. There is nothing we can do about that. If you don’t believe me, it has already happened over the last six months!
Where do we want to be in the next few weeks or months? Having worked hard, again, on stuff that is too difficult right now, or performing a nice little set of intermediate music and having everyone in the audience, and more importantly ourselves, truly enjoy the performance?
Then it is onward and upward to the music that used to be too difficult!
We’ll also be able to give enjoyable performances along the way one small thing at a time. Each performance will be fun and rewarding. If you don’t believe me just ask me.
Six months ago to right now seemed like plenty of time to get to where we wanted to be, but here we are. What if we had done what I’m describing with just a bit, like 15-20%, of every practice for the last six months? Where would we be now?
Where will we be in a few months?
When we get there would we be happy if we did that?
Have a conversation about it with your future self.
How well will you perform in the near future?
You decide.
Gosh! There’s a lot here to take in. I need to be accountable for every second of my practise time and really endorse a child’s inquisitive mind. If only my actions were as good as my words! I need to print this and attach it to my music stand as a constant reminder.
One step at a time, Julie. Just focus on single steps. The memorization protocol from the masterclass might help with that.
One at a time, then perform for us at the Stage Workshop.
When I first started playing music, at 50, most of the tunes were too difficult (beyond my abilities). Having only a few piano lessons and not playing music in Jr. High or High School, I considered myself in kindergarten for music. I wanted to play what others played and finally realized when I started with some simple folk tunes, music improved. Still needing my notation and tab, for mountain dulcimer, helped me play better but not well and I felt I couldn’t memorize the music. The work I’ve done in the Practiclasses and now in the Lightbulb Masterclass is very helpful. I’ve been working on a tune with dotted 1/8th notes and 1/16th notes and finally have part A memorized and am beginning to feel comfortable playing that section. Now to apply the same techniques with the B part. These lessons with deliberate practice are a great help and I wish I had this information when I started my musical adventure. Thanks Gregg for all your teaching and sharing your knowledge.
Memorization is really liberating once we can control it, isn’t it?
Would love to hear about your progress in the group if so inclined. Each of these post responses you’ve made are very illuminating. You are well on the way with your practice journey. It is nice to be getting these ‘postcards from the road’.
Lots of food for thought. I am my own worst critic and have been told before to play something easier but then I put more pressure on myself to get it right or (perfect). I can hear a voice saying – you are not a robot, just enjoy sharing the music and let go of perfectionism!! I am working towards this as a goal. Thank Gregg
Use a small part of your practice (15-20%?) to work on, really work on, some easy stuff. Work on it as if you are preparing for a performance, because you are. Use the rest of your practice for whatever you want.
See what happens and go from there!
I’m fine when I play to a “non critical” audience like friends, or the residents at the nursing homes where I do solo recitals. But when I play in front of other classical guitarists my rh fingers decide to start doing an Irish dancing gig on their own and I have to pack up and stop. They all say “ Paul we are with you” but my subconscious mind must be thinking “ you b***ards are watching for every slip up *!!!. I will now start to do what Gregg is suggesting by just playing a few really simple well practiced pieces. Thank you Gregg.
Thanks, Paul.
I agree with you about how it feels even in a supportive environment. I have a bit of a more positive spin on this which is – everybody knows when we mess up a musical performance whether they want to or not. We all know music is not supposed to start and stop, or have out of key or poor sounding notes, and we recognize it when we hear it. We can’t help it.
It is reasonable to notice this, and they are thinking what we are thinking – the performance shouldn’t sound like that.
So yes, even though they are ‘on our side’, wish us the best and truly enjoy seeing us rise to the challenge of performing, everyone knows if it is a flawed performance, and a good performance was the entire point giving it.
The idea I’m proposing is to start giving nearly flawless performances that are representative of our preparation. Using easy pieces makes that easier (i.e. lowers the initial cognitive load).
Use a small part of your practice (15-20%?) to work on, really work on, some easy stuff. Work on it as if you are preparing for a performance, because you are. Use the rest of your practice for whatever you want.
See what happens and go from there!
Oops, posted that in the wrong place.