October 21

1 comments

Skip the Easy Parts

It's easy for us musicians and music students to fall into a trap.

We get part of a new piece learned. Wonderful. Magnificent.

Except...

The thought of pushing forward isn't as exciting as playing the smooth, cool parts we've already learned. The parts that are now easy.

And so, it won't be unusual for some students to be stuck on the first couple pages of music of a piece for weeks, even months. It gets out of hand pretty quickly.

The challenge is learning to skip the easy parts to lean into the new, harder parts. To find comfort in the discomfort of learning.

For it's only by leaning into the hard parts that we can...well...practice leaning into hard parts. 

Overcoming that resistance does get easier over time. But it requires building a habit of overcoming resistance every day.

It's practice. Just like everything else.

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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.

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  1. “raises hand as she types this!!” This is totally me!!! It’s really cool to finally figure out a passage I’ve been working on & can finally play w some confidence and excitement!! The hard part is learning to revel in my accomplishment & celebrate it but then get my nose back to the grindstone which some days doesn’t seem as fun!! It’s hard for me to find the balance between both of those phases! I guess I have to even practice doing that!!! Lol!!

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