The temple remains.

Fragments of past transmissions echo below.

Category: Inspiration

  • Stop Trying to Play Better

    It is not your responsibility to play better. If you knew how to do that, you would be doing it already. Are you not already doing the best you can do? Why do you expect more?

    So, what’s the alternative to this mindset?

    The way you play is a direct result of how you practice. Nothing else.

    The only thing you should be concerning yourself with is your practicing.

    If you want different results, the only thing you need to do is change how you practice. Now, there is no way to guarantee any specific results, especially if you’re asking for a big change.

    But, you can never get more out than you put in.

    • Do you know what results you’re getting?
    • Do you know what results you’re trying to get?
    • Do you know if you’re practicing correctly?
    • Do you even have a specific way of practicing? (I mean really specific, concrete exercises!)

    Or, is your practice time only spent on “trying to play it better”?

  • Is My Piano Playing Good or Bad?

    “Is my piano playing good or bad?”

    If you’re asking this question, you should already know the answer to it. You are the one playing, not me.

    Do you like the results you’re getting? If so, what more do you want? If not, great. Now you have an opportunity to improve something.

    Stop asking other people to evaluate your playing. They can’t possibly know the answer better than you do.

    “How do I improve my playing?”

    This is a better question, but you might not like the answer:

    Practice in such a way that your playing becomes better.

    Do you have a specific, clear way of practicing that is taking you where you want to go? Most pianists don’t.

    And yet, that is the only thing that matters, and the only thing that you should be evaluating.

     

  • What is “Fun” Supposed to Mean?

    “I’m just playing for fun…”

    What’s this “fun” thing all about?

    Can’t serious things be fun? It’s as if there’s some kind of inherent contradiction. Either it’s work, or it’s fun. I guess fun means anything that isn’t work…

    Is this a defense mechanism? Maybe you don’t want to really commit, because then it won’t be fun? After all, if you don’t commit, you’re not putting anything on the line. If you don’t play the game, you can’t possibly lose.

    Piano needs to be more fun for kids, right? Otherwise, they will quit and do something that is actually fun… (I’m not exactly clear on where the tragedy is in this)

    It’s more fun when you are playing well, right? It’s also more fun when you are making fast progress, and certainly less fun when you are struggling.

    But, why can’t you struggle, and still be engaged in the struggle? Why do you always have to be making progress?

    So, is this concept of fun useful, or not? Try experimenting with this. Notice what effect labeling something as fun has on how you go about doing it.

    If you’re practicing the piano, focus on what you’re doing. Whether it’s fun or not. If you’d rather stop and do something else, then stop and do something else. Whether or not that other thing is fun.

    Pay attention to what you’re actually doing.

    Fun is just a way of avoiding having to pay attention.

    My questions to you:

    • Is music practice fun?
    • What do you find more fun?
    • Less fun?

    I want to hear from you!

     

  • Is Music Practice a Waste of Time?

    If you don’t have professional aspirations (or whatever the “right” aspirations are), you might wonder:

    Is this worth my time?

    You may have lots of feelings. Guilt for being self-indulgent, frustration from making little progress, etc.

    Those concerns are not stupid, and you should not ignore them. Rather, you should acknowledge them. They are telling you something important about yourself.

    However, the mere fact that you have those feelings doesn’t mean you need to do anything about them.

    Are you confused and uncertain about what direction to take? Wondering why you practice so much when you are never going to be the best? I mean, you’re not even going to be the best in town.

    You could let yourself dream big. Without judgment, ask yourself: if I could do anything, what would I do?

    Time spent on music practice is rarely wasted.

    You need to find that creativity and enthusiasm that you know is in there. You know, whatever led you to music in the first place.

  • There’s no such thing as a bad habit

    “I don’t want to make a mistake because then I’ll learn it wrong and I’ll never be able to fix it.”

    This is just an excuse.

    Let yourself learn it wrong. If you’re not open to learning it wrong, you’re probably not open to learning it right, either.

    There’s no such thing as a bad habit. Let your habits form as they want to, and pay attention to what happens. You have less control over this than you realize.

    The enemy is not “learning it wrong.” The enemy is ignorance.

    Besides, have you ever noticed how much you are doing wrong in an attempt to prevent mistakes? That should concern you, if it doesn’t. But, it probably doesn’t, because you are too fixated on the one mistake your teacher got you all worried about.

  • Self-Esteem For Musicians

    You hope you don’t make any mistakes.

    Why? What’s so bad about making a mistake?

    What will happen if you totally mess it all up?You will feel like a failure, right?

    But, what’s so bad about feeling like a failure? Where did you learn that being a failure was a bad thing?

    What would performing be like if you didn’t care about how well you performed? What would you care about instead?

    I know, you’re going to tell me that you don’t like feeling bad about yourself. That’s perfectly understandable. But, my point here is not to say that you shouldn’t care about that.

    My point is to ask you: why is it that your self-esteem is based on how well you perform?

    Where does that come from?

    What does it do to the way you perform, and the way you practice?

    I want you to imagine for a minute that as a young child, you were never criticized for failing at anything. Would you now be saying “I feel badly about myself because I didn’t perform well”?

    Let me be crystal clear about what I’m asking you to consider: Your self-esteem has nothing to do with your performance. That’s just a crazy story you’re telling yourself. It could easily have gone another way.

    Of course, you can’t change the past. But, you can change the present.

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