Although I haven’t written about it until now, I initiated a new goal/project with the first of the year. It’s sort of like a New Year’s resolution, but only for the next five New Years.
My goal is to spend the next five years developing my skills as a performer, artist, teacher, composer, etc to become a world-class, virtuoso percussionist. The task may sound daunting (and it certainly seems that way to me considering my currently skill level), but that’s why I like it: it’s audacious.
10,000 Hours
Most experts believe that it takes at least 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become an expert at something. Malcom Gladwell wrote extensively on the idea in his book Outliers which I read and have been influenced by. I probably have at least 2,000 hours of percussion experience and at least 3,500 hours of general music experience (guitar, koto, etc) tucked under my belt. BUT, that 10,000 hours is to become an expert. I think that becoming a virtuoso is entirely different.
What makes a virtuoso?
First, what differentiates a virtuoso from someone who is just really, really good? Well, a big part of it is the ability to play things that stump even experts. Amazing sight-reading and improvisation chops are common.
Another quality that I think defines many virtuosos is persona (or stage presence or whatever you want to call it). A virtuoso is someone who can draw the attention of even the experts. People may often be divided in their opinion regarding virtuosos, but they do not get ignored or overlooked.
The best example of this I know of is Steve Schick. I saw him perform this last fall at PASIC 2011. Not everyone is interested in the music he performs (it can be very abstract), but I enjoy it. I’d heard some of the pieces he played before. However, when he began playing, his performance demeanor drew me in like no one ever has before.
His entire person exuded the piece he was performing and I was entranced. His performance confidence was so high that I was willing to believe anything that he did. For example, while performing Iannis Xenakis’ Psappha, he paused several times to adjust his glasses and stopped once to adjust a table with instruments on it. When he did these things, he did not hesitate after his last note and he did not hesitate before his next. He just hit some things, made an adjustment, and went right back into the piece.
I don’t know the pieces note for note. There could have been a rest there. The point is, however, that he did these actions in such a way that if you told me there was a cue written in the score to adjust your glasses, I would have believed it.
That’s the level of performance that I wish to attain.
Long, difficult journey
As this is a five year goal, I clearly expect it to be a long (and arduous) journey. I think that in order to become a virtuoso, I’ll need to start those 10,000 hours over from scratch. I’m going to build a new collection of high quality, focused, and efficient 10,000 hours of experience.
I’ve already started tracking all of my hours of teaching, being taught, rehearsing, practicing, etc. I’ll need 2,000 hours of experience a year, which equates to about 40 hours per week. I believe myself capable from physical, intellectual, and emotional perspective, but I’ll likely need a lot of help.
My family already helps me a lot by allowing me to practice and supporting me in my performances. My students and mentors are also incredibly supportive. All I can hope for is that in the future they continue to do so and that the new students and teachers that I encounter will be as helpful and supportive.
See you in five years
I may post updates from time to time, but I have no plans on how I will do this yet. With a long-term project of this nature most of the improvements I make will be small, gradual, and incremental. It is hard to make real announcements about that so I may just do yearly or quarterly updates.
If you’d like to keep up to date on my progress, my thoughts, and my adventures please subscribe to the blog. You can do so by RSS (and I’ll add an email option in the future – I’m still figuring out the whole blogging thing).
Thanks for reading and supporting me in my musical adventures.
- Colin
