The Obvious (The Good): Hard work
This section may seem obvious, but bear with me. This is not a piece of writing that is simply about practicing more; this MUST be discussed, though! I do not think it is blatantly obvious to most students what must be done. Malcolm Gladwell writes in his book Outliers that K. Anders Ericsson did a study of violinists at Berlin’s elite Academy of Music. He saw that the elite violinists had “purposefully and single mindedly played their instrument with intent to get better” (practiced) around 10,000 hours by age twenty. The good violinists had practiced around 8,000 hours and the “future music educators” (a direct quote from Outliers, the statement bothers me because the author implies that future music educators are not as proficient of musicians. I do not believe this, but still want to use this source as I think there is merit to the general argument of practice. Most elite performers teach as well.) had practiced 4,000 hours by age twenty.
Ericsson did a similar study of pianists, and found the same trend. Ericsson did not find any “naturals.” Nobody performed at an elite level without practice. Ericsson also did not find any “grinds,” people who work harder than everyone else but didn’t rise to the top level. Their research suggests that once a musician has enough ability to get into a top music school, the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works. That’s it. And what’s more, the people at the top don’t work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder.” Most students I encounter do not understand how hard elite performers work.
Let’s do some simple math here. If you practice one hour each day for 365 days a year, it would take you 27.4 years to get to 10,000 hours (the number that elite performers had amassed by age 20). Here’s a quick breakdown:
Avg. Practice per day Years till 10,000
1 hour 27.4
2 hours 13.7
3 hours 9.1
4 hours 6.85
5 hours 5.5
One of my teachers said over and over “Brendan, there’s always room at the table at the top. Become an amazing tuba player, and there will be something for you to do in the field. Don’t worry about what that job is, just take every opportunity you can and practice. While you are sleeping, someone is practicing your part.” Take a moment to consider your career goals and what age you want to have achieved them by. Take a moment to honestly assess how much you may have practiced in your lifetime. Take a moment to assess what has to be done to realistically achieve your goals in the time frame you want to.
The less obvious (The Bad): Circumstance
There is an obvious fatal flaw in the 10,000 hour rule. What if you spent 10,000 hours practicing only 2nd partial concert B♭ on your instrument? Would you be an elite performer? No. Absolutely not. You need to be practicing the right things. Notice that the study of violinists was at Berlin’s “elite” Academy of Music, not at a “normal” institution. Also notice the quote said that “once a musician has enough ability to get into a top music school, the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works.” Having a great teacher to be a sound model and being assigned appropriately difficult solos, etudes, and fundamentals is crucial to success. Having great pedagogy in terms of how to play the instrument is also crucial. Having access to (or better still, owning) a fine instrument is also crucial. Having excellent ensembles to play with is also crucial.
All of these things require a mixture of luck and money. It could even be argued that to have money is to be lucky. Most (probably all) people did not choose where and when they were born and into what circumstances they were born. As a side note, I take HUGE issue with people tying higher test scores in school to success in music. MOST students succeeding in music are more affluent (can afford lessons, instruments, etc.) and have much more parental support (can get to concerts, lessons, etc.) To simply tie music to success in school is to miss a pretty big social problem.
When you are dealt a hand in a card game, you did not choose that hand. Great poker players play every hand as well as they can. If they have a poor hand, they bluff their way to the top sometimes -- work hard to fake it until they can win. Sometimes they will fold the hand, too, understanding that winning the large pot may not be realistic for them or a risk worth taking. On the other hand, if they have a wealthy, rich hand, they try to obscure it and not flaunt their hand (in this case to deceive and to win money…but the point stands). Thinking about circumstance can be discouraging, because you only have one hand you were dealt in life, but questions you can ask yourself are:
“Am I doing the best possible with my circumstance?”
“Are my goals realistic to my circumstance?”
“Am I squandering my circumstance?”
“What have others done in my circumstance to achieve the success I want?”
“Am I working to make my own luck and improve my circumstance in a way that brings me closer to my envisaged success every day?”
“Are my practice habits improving my circumstance? Am I applying what I am learning?”
One positive thing about circumstance is that circumstance doesn’t matter if you’re not working hard enough to be an elite player. If you aren’t even close to the trajectory to practice enough to be an elite player, the aforementioned material shows it doesn’t matter what your circumstance is (in relation to becoming an elite player; people and their circumstances always matter in a general way, of course). You do not need to bemoan circumstances causing you to not be an elite player if you are not working hard enough to be one anyway. You need the obvious (hard work) before the less obvious matters. Talking about this aspect of getting better in music is difficult. I called it “The Bad” for a reason. It will literally be harder for people to succeed in the music field based on circumstances in their life that they had no control over. However, no one cares behind a screen, or at an interview to be a college professor. It is up to you to evaluate and do what it is going to take based on your circumstance to succeed at the level that you want to. It is up to you to understand your circumstance and maximize.
The paragraph above could be particularly depressing for some individuals. What can we do to inspire ourselves to continue to get better if we are made sad by our circumstance?
Be grateful for what you have.
“What is good about my circumstance?”
“What do I have in my circumstance that others would love to have?”
“What have others invested in me so that I could be where I am?”
“Who believes in me?”
“Do I feel lucky to be pursuing art each day?”
“How do I bring joy to others in this circumstance?”
“What brings me joy about my art?”
One reason I enjoy making these articles about brass playing is because I grew up in Hawaii. I had some amazing teachers, but didn’t always have amazing teachers. I read many books I could find on brass playing, as well as articles online. I do hope that maybe someone’s circumstance and what they know about brass playing could improve by reading these articles. While this passage doesn’t address much of the information learned studying at elite schools relative to brass playing, many of my other writings do.
Might not be obvious at all (The Ugly)
For many, their circumstance was good. They may have attended top institutions, practiced enough. They still are not where they want to be and many are bitter or jaded. Many of those people give up. I do not believe 10,000 hours and great circumstance is enough to be at the very top level of brass employment anymore. It is too competitive and over-saturated of a field. People don’t like to say this. I believe that 10,000 hours and good circumstances are enough to have a place in the field (possibly living in poverty, with no benefits). I think a few more things are required to get to “the next level” that most people associate with better gainful employment. I will go through them.
Luck.
It takes luck. No matter what anyone says, there is a level of luck involved. HOWEVER, it is only luck when you pretty consistently advance, are runner-up, or are in the finals of major jobs over and over again. Most people do NOT fall into this category. I do not. I can only think of 2-3 people I think are in “middle tier jobs” who perform at elite levels that this applies to. This is ugly. It is the truth, but rarely, rarely applies. The individuals who this applies to probably wouldn’t believe it’s luck, either. They are elite performers. They are honing their craft every day and making their own luck to the best of their ability. Most people use luck as an excuse for their lack of ‘ideal’ employment. While this is ugly, it applies to so few people I might as well not have mentioned it. I only mention it because it exists and many people (falsely) hide behind this excuse. It prevents them from getting better and this article is about getting better. For those of you that I feel this applies, my heart goes out to you! Keep doing you! (Once again, probably not you though)
The ability to change, explore, experiment, consider opposing opinions. Creativity.
If you have practiced the amount you may need to to become “elite” and have the pedagogy to do so but are not as far along as you’d like, you are simply doing something wrong. Or rather, you haven’t figured out how to do it as right as you should be to be at the highest elite level. I’m sorry, but it’s true. I am constantly on the search for the “better” because I know I haven’t figured it out. I actually don’t think winning an elite level job could convince me that I am doing everything right, either, and most of those players don’t think they are doing everything right. That’s how they got their jobs in the first place.
Maybe you’re not working on the skills that you need to get the employment you want?
Maybe your embouchure shifts create uneven sounds?
Maybe you play too darn loud?
Maybe you are bad at interviews and you say things that cause people to dislike you?
Maybe you are out of tune?
Maybe your equipment is too far from the professional standard?
Maybe you don’t practice soft playing enough?
Maybe your tonguing is inefficient and needs to change?
Maybe you are not aware of the actual sound you are producing?
Maybe your musicianship is too flamboyant?
Maybe your musicianship is too square?
Maybe you consistently play slightly out of time?
Maybe your low range sucks and you need to figure out a more efficient way of execution?
Maybe your tonal concept is actually far from what is generally desired?
Maybe you haven’t played enough “difficult” music so it sounds labored?
Maybe your best is world class but you need to build consistency?
Maybe your masterclasses suck and bore people?
Maybe you offend people with your masterclasses?
Maybe there is tension in your body that you are unaware of causing a sound that is slightly less characteristic?
Maybe what you are bad at is not perceived by you so you’re not practicing that at all?
This list can go on and on. The elite players I have studied with have all found creative ways -- whether through drills, fundamentals, different ways of conceptualizing things -- that have allowed them to overcome the fact that they weren’t finding a way to consistently do what many people thought was desirable. They didn’t just do the same thing over and over expecting a different result. They changed the way they practiced over time.
The fact that this list can go on and on and it is impossible to know exactly what to change to find the winning formula can be formidable. If your artistry and ideas of playing are not progressing each day, you’re stagnating. You’re putting in the time, but not doing the work. If you practice and are not searching, learning, challenging yourself, being your own teacher, you may need to go and take more lessons to reinspire yourself. Perhaps just go on youtube and listen to some players with elite jobs. You probably don’t sound like them if you listen closely. If you did, you’d probably be closer to where you want to be.
Persistence
Don’t give up. Don’t give up on being the very best. Don’t settle. Don’t delude yourself into feeling good enough so that you don’t feel bad. You won’t be able to improve as efficiently.
This last part of the piece is the side of music that may be the least unfair. You cannot give up until you figure out how to do it intangibly “right-er” than everyone else. There are a few “naturals” who just put in the 10,000 hours and circumstance and opportunity meets talent. Those “naturals” might perceive that they did it solely within the context of hard work and got elite level employment. There wasn’t much thought that went into it. I know that’s not me! I’m not “natural.”
I hope if you have dreams to be an elite player and haven’t put in the time, you put in the time. The table lays it out! Go get it! If your circumstance is difficult, figure out if it is worth it to you. I hope you get to the level where you can receive the instruction you deserve. I will continue to search for the answers for my own personal improvement that go beyond putting in the hours and for those of you at this point, I hope you do too. I am grateful for where I am now though, and all the circumstances and people who have helped me get there. That gratitude has been fuel for me at every level of my career so far.
“It is impossible to be a hockey player, Bill Joy or Robert Oppenheimer, or any other outlier for that matter, to look down from their lofty perch and say with truthfulness, ‘I did this all myself.’” -Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers