Practice as an Act of Faith

We spend hours locked in a room with our instruments–perfecting small bit after small bit. We spend hours teaching our fingers to move the way we want. We’re mindful of every small movement and every note; we try to wring as much musicality out of each note as possible.

Then we perform the piece: for people, for a video camera, for a microphone. And during that performance we have faith that the hours spend practicing were for something.

Practicing an instrument is an act of faith. We have to have faith that the small things we work on will come out in performance and we have to have faith that a listener likes it. We have to have faith that the small victories of each day add up to a more complete musician in the long run.

That’s a lot of faith.

But it has to be balanced by a critical mind and constant evaluation. Have the faith to try something out, and go for it with everything you have, but have the discipline to drop something if it’s not working. A lot of people practice scales, but I have to wonder how many of those people are doing it because they are “supposed to” vs. “because it helps with _____.”

Believe in what your doing, but always look for the best way to get things done.