Articles
Fail Fast, Fail Often
Ryan Babineaux January 2014
The Daily Beast
[Ed's note: This piece is excerpted from Fail Fast, Fail Often: How Losing Can Help You Win by Ryan Babineaux, PhD., and John Krumboltz, PhD., with the permission of Tarcher/Penguin. Copyright 2013 Ryan Babineaux, PhD., and John Krumboltz, PhD
In the book Art and Fear, the artists Ted Orland and David Waylong share a story about a ceramics teacher who tried an experiment with his class.
How Many Hours a Day Should I Be Practicing?
Noa Kageyama August 2012
While it may be true that there are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going, there certainly are ways of needlessly prolonging the journey. We often waste lots of time because nobody ever taught us the most effective and efficient way to practice. Whether it's learning how to code, improving your writing skills, or playing a musical instrument, practicing the right way can mean the difference between good and great.
You have probably heard the old joke about the tourist who asks a cab driver how to get to Carnegie Hall, only to be told: "Practice, practice, practice!"
I began playing the violin at age two, and for as long as I can remember, there was one questin which haunted me every day.
Am I practicing enough?
Does Mental Practice Work?
Dr. Noa Kageyama
IIt is said that legendary pianists Rubinstein and Horowitz hated practicing. Rubinstein simply didn't like practicing for hours of end, while Horowitz supposedly feared that practicing on pianos other than his own would negatively affect his touch. Their solution? A healthy dose of mental practice.
Though many of us may never be legends, mental practice is something that all musicians can absolutely benefit from, regardless of skill level.
Have a concert coming up that you're not ready for, but too tired to practice? Want to practice but can't,l because of a fare-up of tendonitis or a bad cold? Practice rooms full? Instrument in the shop? Too early/too late to practice? Only have 15 minutes, so its not really worth getting your instrument out of your locker, finding a practice room, and getting set up, only to have to quit a few minutes later?
Sound familiar?
Sure, but just imagining yourself playing can't be the same as real physical practice, right?