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Forty Truths About Practicing and Performing
Dr. Betty Scott, University of Missouri-Columbia

1. When you’re not motivated, you have to be disciplined.

When you mention discipline to most students, they groan and roll their eyes, but discipline is a good habit to develop to get us through those times when our motivation is at low ebb. The word “discipline” comes from the Latin disciplina, which means “instruction” or “knowledge.” Couldn’t you use a bit more knowledge?

Ernst Bacon: “The greatest freedom in playing results from the most disciplined preparation.”

2. Nothing takes the place of daily practice, which is both intensive and comprehensive.

Intensive means focused and fully present, working thoughtfully and meticulously on passages that need detailed dissection, Comprehensive means that your practice covers the broad spectrum of skills, techniques and musical styles needed to increase your gifts as a performer.

3. “Practice makes perfect” is false. Only correct practice makes perfect.

If you’re not sure what constitutes correct practice, consult with a teacher or a professional player.

4. Learn it correctly so that you don’t have to unlearn it to relearn it.

I once asked Steve Geibel, flute professor at the University of Missouri, how it was that he missed so few notes on his recitals. He answered by saying that when he was learning to play, he had a teacher who told him that it was just as easy to play it right as it was to play it wrong. Steve believed him. So should you.

5. The map (music notation) is not the territory.

Maps are visual symbols that show us how to get to where we want to go. They don’t show us the curves or inclines of the road itself. These are things we experience as we drive on the highway. Music notation, too, represents symbols, which offer us possibilities for interpretation. The rest is up to us.

Pablo Casals: “The written is not like a straight jacket whereas music is, like life itself, in constant movement.”

Phil Smith: “Music is not just the black dots on the white paper—it’s what happens when those black dots on the white paper go into your heart and come out again.”

6. Go from the general to the specific back to the general.

To get an overview of an unfamiliar piece of music, read through it from edge to edge, regardless of the mistakes you make along the way. Then proceed to consciously analyze the music, work on specific measures and train your muscles to respond accurately when playing this music. Following methodical practice, return to the music, this time letting your muscles respond unconsciously to the new training as you move to a new level of understanding and musicianship.

7. When correcting a problem, start at the core of the problem.

And work in concentric circles outward. Too often we return to the beginning of the piece rather than dealing with the troublesome passage itself. Massage the problem—get it worked out—before beginning the piece anew.

8. Some things need more practice than others.

Such as beginnings, endings, retards, pauses, transitions (especially to new keys or tempos), repeats, D.C.s and D.S.s.

9. Being able to distinguish the significant from the insignificant is important.

Sometimes we spend time on passages that we can already play. This can be a waste of valuable rehearsal time. Spend your time working on what you can’t play so that you will eventually be able to play it. Play the things you can already play when you need a little bit of ego boosting or want to maintain learned skills.

10. Slower is sometimes faster.

When you play fast, avoid sounding frenetic. Slowing down a passage by several metronomic notches has an immediate impact, especially to your listeners. One tempo will sound secure; the other will sound frantic.

11. Hearing is selective.

There’s a difference between hearing and listening. Learn to listen more carefully to what you and others sound like, especially professional players. Buy CDs and immerse yourself in the sounds and music. Better yet, attend live performances.

12. Bad starts = bad timing.

Know the tempo beforehand and breathe in that tempo.

13. You want to have enough technique so that you don’t have to think about it.

Did you know that the word “technique” comes from the Greek word tekhne, which means “art” or “skill”? This means that all passages should be played artfully or skillfully, no matter what the speed.

14. “Almost” being able to play a piece isn’t enough.

Like climbing to the peak of a mountain, there’s a difference between being there and almost there. Keep practicing.

15. Effort must eventually turn into ease.

The idea is to make the most difficult measures sound easy. I often call this the principle of “maximum utilization with the least amount of effort.”

16. Your reality as a player is constructed one practice session at a time.

Think about what you want to accomplish before you begin.

17. Deliberately conceive, meticulously plan and methodically execute.

Pre-plan and visualize your success.

18. Put your focus on the piece and the outcome you want.

Know what you want and, as the Nike ad says, “Just Do It.”

19. Practice as if you have no limits. Perform as if this were true.

What do you have to lose by thinking this way? What do you have to gain?

20. When you play, play.

Go all-out and have a good time. Enjoy yourself.

21. When in doubt, breathe.

Few directives are more important than this one.

22. Everything is energy.

With imagination you can transform your ideas into physical manifestation; i.e., you can create their happening in the physical world.

23. Energy flows where attention goes.

So keep your attention on the music and how you intend to express yourself.

24. Listen to the words you use; listen to the words others use.

Are they positive and constructive? If not, change them.

25. Neither justify nor tear down yourself or your performance.

Louise Hay: “What we think about ourselves becomes the truth for us.”

26. Fear is either a motivator or debilitator.

Spiritually, it is sometimes said that the definition of fear is “Forgetting Every Available Resource” or “False Evidence Appearing Real.” If you get nervous performing, seek help in learning to cope or reframe the emotion.

Sir Edmund Hillary: “It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”

A Crow (American Indian) saying: “One has to face fear or forever run from it.”

27. If you’re on time, you’re late.

In professional groups, starting at 10:00 a.m. means being in your seat and ready to go by 9:50 a.m. at the latest.

28. When you play, have something to say.

Otherwise you will bore your audience.

29. A safe performance is a dull performance.

Franz Liszt: “Dullness is the cardinal sin of performance.”

30. Performances are either educational or entertaining—or both.

Can you make your performance a combination of both?

31. Playing musically is more than playing accurately.

Playing accurately is important. But many other factors are equally important, such as intensity, emotion, and dynamics.

32. A deadly combination: missing notes and playing unmusically.

You know you are in trouble if you see someone in the audience counting your mistakes!

33. The less interesting a piece, the more imaginative and convincing you must play it.

Not all compositions are created equal. Some are better than others. For those on the bottom end of the spectrum, create imaginative interpretations.

34. Always do the best you can if not the best you are capable of.

Some days are better than others. All you can do is to play up to fullest ability in any given moment. Forgive yourself if it’s less than what you are capable of.

35. Everything is experience.

This means that you can learn a lot from any performance, whether it be mediocre, miserable or magnificent.

36. “Never surrender. Never give up.” (Galaxy Quest, the movie)

Nearly everyone has moments when they want to stop playing. Don’t.

37. Being successful takes practice, patience and persistence.

Ralph Waldo Emerson: “That which we persist in doing becomes easier—not that the nature of the task has changed, but our ability has increased.”

38. There are few limits except those we impose on ourselves.

Walt Disney: “Somehow I can’t believe that there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a personwho knows the secret of making his dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C’s. They are curiosity, confidence, courage and constancy and the greatest of these is confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way.”

39. “Perfection is always seeking to surpass itself.” (Jane Roberts)

Playing perfectly in one moment of time may be different than playing perfectly in another moment. Perfection changes as you mature as a performer.

40. There’s more to music than music.

To be a really fine musician, immerse yourself in other pursuits. Learn about history, art, literature, and poetry—culture in general. The more you know, the better you’ll play.

Dr. Betty Scott has taught at the University of Missouri-Columbia for over 25 years. She is also a certified hypnotherapist who is on the Faculty Advisory Board for the American Board of Hypnotherapy and the American Pacific University. She also practices various healing modalities: Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Therapeutic Touch, Emotional Freedom Technique, Quantum-Touch and Pranic Healing. If you would like to contact Dr. Scott, please send an email to ScottB@missouri.edu. If you have any interesting insights and pithy sayings about teaching and performing, please send them to her. Dr. Scott is in the process of expanding this list and would like to include more aphorisms in a future article.