Post
by Flashdharma » Fri Oct 21, 2016 1:28 pm
I have been playing guitar for more than 20 years and here is my take on 'frustration'. This has all become much more meaningful to me since I started studing keyboard here and am revisitiong 'awkward beginner' land.
It is easy, even if you are an advanced player, to become discouraged, and/or intimidated when you compare your playing with that of other musicians. Even if you are not distressed by the disparity between your playing and that of the individual(s) you are comparing yourself with, it is still easy to begin to expect too much from yourself. It is important to have goals. But, this musical journey is a long one (one life-time is not enough to explore it fully). At every point in the process, we make strides forward, and, at the same time, we become more aware of deficiencies we need to address. That is as true for the best players as it is for a beginner.
The first important thing to learn, if you want to avoid the ‘I am not making progress syndrome’, is that you have to let go of the ‘condemning mind’. While it is good to be aware of areas that need improvement, it is not good, or productive, to let that awareness interfere with your enjoyment of playing music. Every time you sit at the piano and play, you are making music. If you focus on the ‘music’, you will find that all of the mental garbage will disappear. If you are playing a scale, don’t think of it as a boring, but necessary, stepping stone to something satisfying that lies in the future. Try to play the scale so that it is ‘musical’, so that it is exciting, and so that playing it gives you pleasure. If you have never tried this, you will be surprised how easy it is to achieve. Playing ‘this’ scale, at ‘this’ time, in ‘this’ place is a creative, satisfying process!
The second thing to know is that there are two basic forms of ‘learning progress’. I will call the first ‘instant progress’ and I will call the second ‘gradual progress’.
The first form of progress is like a flash of lightening. You practice something, and, suddenly you see amazing possibilities that you never saw before. You are able, instantly, to bring new techniques and/or expression to your playing. We have all had this experience and it is wonderful when it happens. However, you can’t expect this result all of the time.
The second form of progress is slow, like water wearing away a stone. You can stand and watch, and nothing seems to be happening, but if you come back later, you find the Grand Canyon. Every time you sit at the keyboard, study a lesson, or think about music, this form of learning is taking place. You have to trust it and allow it to move at its own pace. The results will come. In fact, ‘instant progress’ is usually the result of a period of ‘gradual progress’. They go hand in hand.
Zen Buddhism talks about maintaining ‘beginner’s mind’ . What that means is the student should always try and keep the freshness and enthusiasm that they felt the first time they sat at the keyboard and simply found joy in making musical sounds. We should always approach learning and practice with a clear, noncondemning mind. Don’t confuse constructive-critical evaluation with condemning. Take joy in what you are doing - you are making music.
