Most people have seen at least one movie about a musician who overcomes the odds to achieve greatness. Or, the music teacher who defies fate to create something incredible.
Mr. Holland's Opus, Whiplash, The Pianist, Shine, and the list goes on.
Even Here Comes the Boom. And man...I never thought I would see the day Henry Winkler played a public school music teacher whose program was about to be cut.
These are great movies (well...Here Comes the Boom is questionable...). But, they reinforce a stereotype about what practicing looks like. Mainly through the power of the montage.
You know how montages work. When the filmmaker needs to show a time-heavy process quickly by using short clips and a killer soundtrack.
The filmmaker certainly does not intend to harm. No one wants to watch a 6-hour movie so that actual practice time can be portrayed accurately.
But, as a society, it leads us to believe that this is how practicing actually works in real life.
Don't get me wrong. Practice can and should be an amazing, life-changing process. It just doesn't happen like it does in the movies. And real practice in itself isn't particularly attractive to listen to, when done properly.
Here at the South Shore Piano School, we're all about the idea that anyone can play the piano with the right processes, tools, and skill-based teaching.
So, I decided to do something a little out there.
I made a video of myself practicing for an hour. Just so you can have a window into what an actual productive practice session looks like.
You can check it out here.
It's not particularly exciting to watch. Lots of slow practice, and many repetitions of small bits. This is why the montage is more attractive for movies.
But...this is how we pianists get music learned quickly. And this is where the magic happens.
With the right expectations, the right processes, and a healthy dose of patience, anything is possible.