How often do our students (and occasionally ourselves) end up banging against a brick wall (figuratively speaking) because we need to change our game plan and gain the knowledge and experience to move forward? We have all had students who want to learn repertoire way above their current level of pianism. They will try, sometimes for years, to play “the piece” and then be defeated because they still fall short. Other students struggle endlessly with music that is right at or even a little below their current skill level.

I’m talking about eager students who work hard and practice but still can’t pull it together. Sometimes it is musical or pianistic skill they lack. Sometimes they use immature or unfruitful methods of working. Sometimes they have had little exposure to music in the genre they are attempting and so have no basis for musical decisions. These students are often very resistant to suggestions and advice. They have to hit rock bottom before they are willing to change.

We were watching our favorite guilty pleasure TV show, Next Food Network Star the night Chris Nirshel was eliminated. It was a humbling episode for him. As he left he said something simple but really profound. It went something like this: “I worked harder than I ever have in my life but hard work just wasn’t enough.” He went on to talk about exactly how he was going to get the experience he needed to move forward. Bingo!

I remember when I first went to music school (woefully unprepared in some respects), I was in tears of frustration at my lesson because I had practiced my Brahms Intermezzo for many hours that week and still couldn’t play it. “I practiced it for 3 hours yesterday,” I wailed at my lesson. “Well practice some more!” thundered my teacher. I was so furious that when I got home I slammed my bedroom door and refused to come out for dinner.

I realized after that that hard work just wasn’t enough. It had to be smart hard work plus knowledge and experience that I could apply to my repertoire. Practice alone just wasn’t going to cut it. And I grew and got better.

 

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