De-Bunked

Greetings friends,

In the book "The Adventures of Johnny Bunko," author Daniel H. Pink basically gives 6 key points to success.

1. There is no plan.
2. Think strength's, not weaknesses
3. It's not about you.
4. Persistence trumps talent.
5. Make excellent mistakes.
6. Leave an imprint.

There you go, the keys to success.....

Ditto......


Oh wait, time for a response. Here we go....

Point number 4, Persistence trumps talent, really stood out to me. Why? That is one big reason why I left my first university, SDSU. I felt like that so many of my friends, some music, some not, were very talented, but only relied on talent to get them by, not making for a good environment to be inspired in or to have a great work effort. Their work effort was minimal. It was like they chose a degree to pursue only because it was easy. Maybe they were really good at music, so they majored in Music Ed or Performance, or some chose business because it is simply an easy and logical degree... anyways, the list could go on. I will focus on music because I understand it more compared to any other degree.

I was the freshman music major that came in with a pretty good work ethic, I realized practicing, or PERSISTENTLY working on musical ideas, was the only way I would be successful in music. I was also the kid that would hound my friends for not practicing their instrument, or sometimes spending more time on a general education course rather than music. That never made sense to me, Work for 3 hours a night on a history course, but practice your instrument for 30 minutes if that. I am not saying to slack on gen ed courses, but you decided to pursue a career in music, so that should be your number one priority. Who cares if you ace your gen. eds, what good does it do you if you don't practice your instrument and find ways to learn a new idea on your own, that way you can use that skill in performance, or help a student work through a similar musical problem they may have.

Yes, you can teach them what your teacher told you in a private lesson and say, "Do This." What if you said, "Well, when I was working on a similar issue, my teacher mentioned this idea, I tried it, it didn't work for me that well. So I experimented on my own to try and solve this problem, and here is what I came up with. Then I asked all of my friends and teachers what they do in a certain musical situation. I then ended up trying them all and I found a way that worked for me by experimenting and trying all of these different ways." Oh my gosh, your persistence and hard work on your instrument has allowed you to give your student 10 options instead of 1 dull one. Now you and your students are benefitting from your hard work. Or if you are in an orchestra or band or something, you can do the same thing if a problem arises. Personally in the Army Band, different issues come up from time to time in a part of the music and a bunch of different people offer advice for what works for them if someone can't work their way through the same musical situation. SO AWESOME!

If you are persistent, you will make mistakes, but they will be excellent mistakes!!!!! POINT number 5. Then in the case of being a music educator, you will be able to help out your students more, therefore, leaving an imprint!!!! POINT number 6. Lets see if I can tie in the other points to a musician and why they need to practice if they want to make a career out of music...

Go in with a plan, but don't be afraid to deviate from the plan. Go into the practice room with a plan, try something out, if it doesn't work, don't be afraid to try something new to be able execute the idea or deviate from the plan of execution in order to exucute the same idea. Maybe number 1 should be, there is not plan set in stone... I think a plan is good, but don't let your feet get stuck in the wet cement as it settles. NUMBER 1!!!!!! as revised by Daniel Heier.

You may begin to deviate from your plan in the practice because you realized you have a weakness with a certain technique, so you need to try a new one in order to execute an idea. Perhaps one that you are stronger in. Way to think of your strengths!!! NUMBER 2!!!

You have realized your weakness and strengths, you were able to not get stuck in the path. "This is the only way I have been taught and it is the only right way and it is the only way another musician can possibly play this musical example because it works for me and I am right....." whoa! Time for an ego check. It's not about you or me!! NUMBER 3!!! use your strengths to better serve the band or students you are teaching.

Well, since we are talking specifically about practicing, number 4 is self explanatory and if you have made this far in the list, you have already realized this. And the rest is explained a few paragraphs back.

Just a thought.... oh and Happy Practicing! 1......2......3......4......GO