“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. ‘Til your good is better and your better best.”
St. Jerome
It is said that there is always room for improvement.
Generally speaking, I find this to be true. Those people who are excellent at what they do are always trying to find ways to improve. It is when we say ‘That’s good enough’ that things tend to decline.
It is one of the laws of nature. Look up the second law of thermodynamics. The whole course of nature is that, left to itself, everything tends to move from order to disorder. We must struggle and work constantly to move forward. We are either improving or we are declining. Therefore, we must constantly seek to improve.
But, how do we proceed?
In this month’s column, I would like to suggest one approach which I have found to be very helpful.
This approach is to simply choose one aspect of your playing, focus on it, and seek to improve it each time you play.
Oftentimes, a musician will play a piece over and over hoping that, simply by virtue of repetition, they will somehow just end up getting better. Unfortunately, this often yields disappointing results.
Why?
Because merely repeating something is not enough. Indeed, such an unfocused approach to practice can actually exacerbate your problems. You may end up practicing and reinforcing mistakes.
A better approach is to choose one aspect of your playing which needs improvement, and focus on getting a little better at that one thing each time you play.
For example, let’s say that you are a guitarist who plays with a flat pick, and it seems as if your progress has stalled. Make up your mind to improve one aspect of your picking.
Begin by holding your pick correctly. (It sounds obvious, but many players struggle with this.) Concentrate on holding your pick perfectly throughout the song. Repeat until it becomes absolutely natural. This alone will make playing much easier, and result in a better overall sound.
Once this is accomplished, work on your alternate picking. Focus on this until it is smooth and easy.
For classical guitarists, they may choose to focus on their right hand position or free stroke technique.
In any event, the point is the same. Every time that you practice, you should seek to emerge from your session better than you were at the beginning. However, it can be difficult to focus on doing everything right all at once.
A better and more manageable approach is to ensure that you are making steady and measurable progress in one aspect at a time.
Give it a try and watch your playing go from good, to better, to best.
Comments