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Miguel de Maria -> Give yourself permission to fail (Aug. 28 2003 16:57:20)
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Guys, just picked up The Inner Game of Music, an adaptation of the famous 70's era The Inner Game of Tennis. Now, I would be just as likely to get How to Strum Chords for Dummies as this book, but thumbing through it, I found it might be useful. You see, guys, I have to confess: I don't play as good as I should. I have felt for a long time that one, my public performances are far below my potential, and two, my amount and quality of practice should have advanced my skills further than they have. The fact that the book addresses these two concerns compelled me to buy it.
One of the interesting concepts is giving oneself permission to fail. Now that sounds easy enough, doesn't it? But why would you do that?
The idea is that by mentally giving yourself permission to fail, you cancel out the little voice in your head (the Self 1, they call it), always doubting, always timid, always afraid to screw up. This little voice saps your skill and strength and is distracting besides. To me, it's like in sports: the favorite sometimes plays "tight," they aren't agressive enough. The underdog can sometimes forget themselves, play loose, just have fun. They don't care about losing because they're supposed to lose. The get out there and play natural, without self-doubt. This is the essence of this technique.
In my practice this morning and last night using this concept, I have improved markedly. I just say, "You can fail, it's okay," and then go for it. You can probably guess that once I do that, I don't fail. My fingers just do it. Oh, maybe I miss one, but then I note where and how I missed it, and adjust. Once I adjust, I don't miss it any more.
I encourage any of youse guys who is in a similar position to me to give this one a try. While you're playing a piece, give yourself permission to fail. You'll be surprised to find you don't!
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