Practicing Sucks

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Excerpt

From: "PRACTICING SUCKS...BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO!" by Phyllis Sdoia-Satz and Barry Satz

PRACTICING SUCKS!!! Not many people will admit it, but it’s true. Ask anyone who has ever had to practice something hundreds, perhaps thousands of times until the body could do it absolutely correctly, automatically. That person will tell you that practicing is, at the very least, REALLY, REALLY annoying.

It doesn’t matter what you’re practicing -- whether it’s a gymnastic step, an ice skating move, a tennis serve, a golf swing, or a piece on a musical instrument. The simple truth is practicing, at best, is a boring, tedious occupation and what’s worse is---most people do it wrong. (Speaking of occupations, have you ever wondered why doctors “practice” but they never “perform”?)

“Wow,” you’re thinking, “Here’s someone who finally admits to hating practice as much as I do.” Oh, did you think that people who practice actually enjoy it??? Think again!!! What we enjoy is the results we get from good, productive practice. And that’s something that beginning to intermediate students almost never do.

Before going any further, let’s first define “practice”. Practice is the monotonous repetition of one small exercise again, and again, and again, and yet again in order to teach some part of the body to execute it perfectly, automatically and consistently, or to drive you crazy --- whichever comes first.

Click here for an excerpt from Husky Gang Tales

Click here for an excerpt from The Acquired Art of Teaching Music

Click here for an excerpt from The Husky Gang Teaches Piano