March 8

0 comments

Practice Like It’s the Death Star

When you practice anything, it's helpful to find all the "single points of failure." Meaning, that one thing that could unravel the entire project.

In your business, it could be making sure you have all types of insurance to handle any possible mishap.

In your piano practice, it could be handling that passage you know is always a problem. So when you perform it for an audience, you know you'll be good to go.

In essence, practice like you're the owner of the Death Star.

Remember the Death Star from Star Wars? The spaceship so powerful it could destroy planets?!?

Except it had that one pesky weak spot that blew it to bits later on.

Sometimes the weak spots can show up in the most unexpected places.

I once played a concert with a cellist. He had extremely high standards. He insisted every rehearsal be at least two hours long. Every single phrase played with the perfect nuance, or it had to be done again.

He needed everything to be polished and professional as possible.

So, what happened on concert day?

He walked out on stage, having forgotten to wear the jacket that went with his suit.

Did it ruin the performance? Of course not.

But, did it sully his vision of the perfect concert? Of course it did.

Check your weak spots. You never know where they'll creep up on you. 

Never miss a blog post!

For parents, students, and anyone else who believes that music can and should be a meaningful part of everyone's life.

About Jonathan Roberts

I am the founder and director of the South Shore Piano School, and I have been teaching the piano for nearly 20 years. My work centers around bringing music to the lives of kids, parents, and adults in an enriching, meaningful way. At the South Shore Piano School, my incredible colleagues and I accomplish this through skill-based teaching, community, and an innovative, people-first business model. You can read more about me here.


Tags


You may also like

The Weekly Review

How did this past week go? What’s something you could have done better? What can you change this week to do that thing better? And how will you make sure you stick to it? Weekly reviews aren’t sexy, by any means. But they’re effective. Do it for a couple months, and you’ll be astounded by the results.

Read More

When 2 + 2 = 10

When it comes to practicing, most people don’t get how time works. People think the amount of practice time is most important. Rather than the frequency. Logic tells us this: Practicing 5 minutes for six days would be the same as practicing 30 minutes for one day. It adds up to the same total minutes, so the benefits are the same.

Read More
Leave a Reply