Powerful article about practicing

[xnewyorka]

A friend just shared the link to this article which I thought was very interesting and relevant:
My 11-year-old son auditioned at Juilliard, and we both learned a lot about how top performers practice

 

[MMiller28]

All that and we don't know if he got in

 

[xnewyorka]

All that and we don't know if he got in

My son was accepted to Juilliard! | Penelope Trunk Careers
Now you know!

 

[Spin Doctor]

All that and we don't know if he got in

With this kid's work ethic, there was no way he wasn't getting in.

 

[Mushroo]

Not to be a downer, but I feel like making an 11 year old practice the same song over and over again, 3 hours a day for 6 months is cruel and unusual.

But maybe that's what it takes to get into Juliard.

 

[xnewyorka]

Not to be a downer, but I feel like making an 11 year old practice the same song over and over again, 3 hours a day for 6 months is cruel and unusual.

But maybe that's what it takes to get into Juliard.

Yeah, I thought about that. As long as the parents make it a free choice for the kid, and then they fully support the kid's choice, I'm OK with it. I don't see it as being very different from young gymnasts or other aspiring Olympians.

 

[Spin Doctor]

Yeah, I thought about that. As long as the parents make it a free choice for the kid, and then they fully support the kid's choice, I'm OK with it. I don't see it as being very different from young gymnasts or other aspiring Olympians.

I sometimes have issue with parents who turn their kids into mediocre people in the name of making them "well rounded". I knew a kid who was the son of a co-worker who by the age of 10 knew as much about the mechanics of football as any adult I'd ever met. He lived football. He favorite thing to do was to watch old superbowls and analyze the games and all the plays.

His Mom however, was determined to make him "well rounded". I've since left that job so I don't know how the kid turned out, but I know for a fact that if anyone was born to play football, it was that kid. I just hope she didn't ruin him... But he's her kid. Not much you can say about it.

 

[G19Tony]

What's the best cello for metal? Kid may need that info someday.

 

[ErikP.Bass]

Dig the article, thanks for posting! All those hyperlinks make me feel ADD though. Good articles in the article, in the article?!?!?

It sounds like the young man has a great teacher. It's the good ones that help you to embrace the struggle and teach you how to build it into your practice routines so you progress.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Nice article! For me the best part was this:

Breaking things down into small steps isn't enough. Make them smaller.
It's impossible to put all your energy into something really difficult if everything is riding on the result. The people who are the best at reaching big goals have an obsessive drive toward the goal, but also, they are able to break down the process of meeting the goal into tiny, bite-sized pieces and then take pleasure in completing each part.

When someone is unable to relish the small steps, they just stop, because process starts to seem hopeless if you constantly focus on the end. You have to have a proclivity for hard work (Invalid Link Removed) combined with the ability to take joy in the process itself.

Very well put, IMO.

 

[IamGroot]

Getting into Julliard is quite a feat. its very competitive, especially in the field of piano, violin and cello performance. it takes enormous effort to master the skills and repertoire to get into the major schools. There is a local DB instructor whose curriculum vitae lists how many double bass students he has placed at the major schools including Julliard.

That said, in the drive to master technical perfection in the classical field, a lot of other musical experience gets bypassed. So I feel sad for the kid if he didn't get some exposure to the RHCP.