Practicing can be Fun

Before I start in on this article, I would note that my previous article and this one were inspired by posts on other sites that I first read via Google Reader. It is a easy way to follow blogs and sites like Horn Matters that support a feed, and most of the sites I personally want to follow can be read via a feed in Google Reader. I keep it in my bookmarks bar for easy access during the day.

One site I follow and enjoy is Trumpet Matters by Phil Collins. In his article “Accepting the Ratio” he has what I am sure is a side point in the middle of this paragraph but still an interesting quote relating to practice. He states,

We expect the trumpet to behave itself every day, and that each practice session must be joyful and triumphant. And then as soon as reality hits we think that something must be terribly wrong with us. One famous orchestral trumpeter revealed that he actually felt like playing maybe 10% of the time! He must have learned early that success on stage and in the practice room is not dependent upon feeling good. (Imagine the announcement just before the the concert: “The trumpet section is not present tonight. They are not feeling well.”)

Sometimes practice is frustrating and we must persist through it, this is true, and I don’t disagree with Collins on any point in his short article. But it is a sad statement that a famous brass player “revealed that he actually felt like playing maybe 10% of the time.”

This brings to mind an underlying difference between student and amateur and professional players. Amateurs in particular play for fun (what a concept!) and for pros the playing can get to be not fun any more, it is just work, a job, and one that has maybe too much stress in it over time with pressure to stay on top of your game.

I never have quite got to that point as a pro because I think I have always had some good variety in my playing and teaching activities. And I will say that the recital I am preparing right now that I have referenced in recent posts, the one using five different horns (natural horn, early valved horn in F, single B-flat, piston valve double, and standard double horns) has been among the most fun things I have prepared in a long time. I look forward to practicing for it every day. Each horn has its own challenges and has at the same time has brought new understanding to the works I am playing on each as I go from horn to horn.

As I close I would just say that whatever stage of horn playing you are in I hope you can find some fun in it, and if it really is down to the 10% level of enjoyment then maybe it is a time to take stock and think about what changes in your playing might make it fun again.