Practicing an Instrument
Learning to play an instrument takes many hours of practice. At the Musicians’ Workshop [see previous article], I led a topic group on “practicing.” Those of us in the group had a lot of feelings about it. Some felt that they never practiced enough. Others avoided it. No one seemed to love it. Isolation was a big feeling for most of us.
I remember “practicing” many things when I was a young person—jumping rope, sewing, singing a song. I didn’t regret the work involved.
As I got older, practicing an instrument became more difficult. Working alone on my technique felt isolating. Competition patterns started to interfere, and I became nervous about performing. Practicing became work, not play.
I recently started learning to play the piano. I have discharged a lot about practicing and notice a big change in how I feel. Now when I sit down to play, I have much more attention! I feel curious and interested most of the time, and my hands are more relaxed. I still work hard, but it doesn’t feel like work.
Delmar, New York, USA
(Present Time 206, January 2022)