By
Jeffrey Cappelli. November 15, 2004.
Once during a daily piano practice with my teacher, she looked at me and said: “I wish I had time to practice”.
This was in response to my whining about yet another daily practice. It seemed very strange that she would "want" to practice, when my goal was simply to get practicing over with! I eventually came to learn that she was telling a simple truth.
The discipline of practicing has made me love and cherish music all the more, and the skills I have learned from practice continue to benefit me to this day.
I believe that one key to success with music, as with many things, is to develop good skills and by self recognition of these skills, to tune into the enjoyment of music itself. Even the learning process — the initial note finding, mistake making, and attempts to put together and ultimately shape music, are part of the process. All of it can and should be enjoyable.
Students need to know that music is attractive in many ways. It is powerful and useful and emotionally satisfying. Getting to a point when a student can actually enjoy their playing depends on a degree of steady progress and the ability to master basic skills... i.e. note reading, counting, fingering etc. Teachers preach quite frequently about these foundational elements at weekly lessons.
We want students to do their best so they can fully enjoy their musical abilities. Practice is every bit as important as lessons and recitals. Any student who makes a reasonable effort will generally make steady progress and learn to enjoy many different kinds of music.
Familiar, corny words as those often uttered by actors when accepting an award come to mind... "I would like to thank my mother", who said she wished she had time to practice every day. Now that I have reached the same point in my life, I echo her wistful sentiments.
