We've all been in that mindset: "If only I had practiced more..."
At this stage in our musical careers, it's tough to see progress. When we first started playing, we made breakthroughs and had our own "genius moments". But now that we're seasoned and have higher expectations, it's difficult to have similar experiences.
It's what aggravates me to no end and what Professor Smith refers to as the Plateau Effect in my lessons. We get stuck at the level we're at even the tiniest bit of progress we make goes unnoticed in our overthinking and ridiculously-highly-standard(ly?) mindset.
So how do we combat this?
Our first thought as music students might be to simply "practice more". However, there's a thought process that must accompany this increased practice time if that's the track we find ourselves going down.
Dr. Noa Kageyama is a leading music therapist that studies musical thought process (especially with practicing) and he has an interesting take on this concept of practice time vs. practice efficiency.
Here's one of his recent post on the matter. Take a minute to read and then share your thoughts.
http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/why-you-are-almost-certainly-capable-of-more-awesomeness-than-you-think/
I think that the Plateau Effect is the realest struggle with being in music. But Dr. Kageyama has some really good tips that I will definitely try in my personal practice.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely my mind set a lot of the time. I just practice and practice until I get frustrated and I finally realize that I'm getting in my own way. I always have to correct myself when I start to think to harshly or judge myself too much. Music takes time and the technique takes time, but this idea of mindset and the tips in the article you shared are very helpful and thoughtful.
ReplyDeleteI’m going through this same thing in my applied lessons and I know that enthusiasm can run out pretty quickly if you don’t see progress in yourself. Then you settle down to practice more and get even more frustrated since you are putting even more time but it seems like you are getting nothing from it. I am starting to realize and accept that all my problems won’t be fixed in one night or in practice session; it will take a long time. This article helped me cement that idea in my head and hopefully, I can continue to stay calm with myself the next time I struggle with a piece.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I feel like my life is a very long plateau, and getting through it is the hardest part. What's the point of anything? How does the way I hit this note impact the overall course of the universe? If I die now, how will the way I will have hit that G will have done nothing to impact the course of humanity and therefore the universe? It wont. My life is pointless. I am but a drop in the bucket.
ReplyDeleteAll I have left is the present. The present is that fleeting moment of color, of presence. But it is so quickly lost. No sooner have I come to the moment than it slips away. If I attempt to grip it it is like trying to trap a tomato seed under my finger. It is illusive.
Hahaha I'm kidding. But yeah this article was great for getting on my feet thanks!