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In regard to a previous post – “Dreams and Goals; Music Performance and Music Education” – I have gotten some feedback though private emails, private conversation and online.
Specifically, the subtitle “Dream Big, Think Small” has gotten some mixed reaction.
This is a very abstract concept that I see as existing on a continuum, and it deserves further explanation. It might also be called “Dream Huge, Think Big” or “Dream Galactic, Think Global.”
Dreams and goals
The relationship between dreams and goals, fantasy and reality is the major point of this train of thought.
The logic behind this:
Dream – someday I will win a big job in a major symphony orchestra
Goal – I will practice my orchestral excerpts for one hour every day
Dream – in two years I will have the perfect, most elegant lip trill
Goal – today I will practice my lip trills for 20 minutes
Dream – in two years my chamber ensemble will be full-time and will be a pre-eminent organization
Goal – in the next 6 months, my ensemble will perform 5 complete recitals
Fact and fiction
A teacher long ago advised me that we as musicians are never as good as our imaginations … but, we try. At the time I took this as cynicism but have since learned that this is actually a good idea for keeping your head on straight.
Thinking of dreams and goals as separate entities – goals being actions under our control, and dreams being the end results not under our control – has helped me in dark moments to maintain an ounce of sanity in an insane business.
In brighter moments too, it is all too easy to blur these lines. When any person, musician or not, begins to believe their own hype – that dreams are a reality under their control – they may be treading in muddy waters.
Throwing caution to the wind in performance is one thing. Doing the same in life is something else entirely.
In this regard, thinking of dreams and goals as separate concepts can be like an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. It can keep you in check.
Humility wins over arrogance. Hope wins over despair.
