Wax On, Wax Off *
No, this is not a post about the removal of hair. (Although, hair is always an interesting topic ...why some have it and some don't ...why we love it in some places and curse it in others ...why some is black, some brown, some blonde, some red ...I'm partial to redheads myself. But that's all for another post, perhaps.) This post is about repetition.
Repetition and practice have always been successful tools used in acquiring command of various skills. Even if you possess innate talent in a particular area, repetition and practice are necessary to refine and hone that gift.
When an activity or task require physical action, repetition trains the muscles, imbues them with the memory of the action, so that when called upon, they perform almost without being consciously activated.
Musicians (or at least the few that I know) are trained through hours and hours of practice to master their technique. But then when they play, they're instructed to forget about "trying" and just feel the music. The technique, the dexterity, the agility, the keyboard acumen ...will all be there as a result of physical memory and need not be a conscious endeavor.
An exercise used to increase keyboard speed is to practice typing as fast as you can with no regard for accuracy. After doing this for awhile, slow down just enough to assure accuracy. You'll find that you're actually typing faster than before.
Inspiration and passion count for a lot, but sometimes, it's just a matter of putting your ass in the seat and doing it ...and not using the absence of "the muse" as an excuse. George Sand ...I believe it was she ...had a practice of writing twenty pages a day, whether she was inspired of not, whether the words came effortlessly or not, whether the result was brilliant or not. Note that some situations will require the complete opposite action (i.e. getting up off your ass).
This also seems to work for the mind. There's a reading program that works on this same principle. You [train] the eyes to read over copy as fast as you can with no regard for comprehension. Then when you slow the process down enough to understanding what you're reading, you'll find you're reading speed has increased significantly ...or at least that's how the product promotes itself.
Repetition and practice are also aids in developing desirable habits. I was recently made aware of a concept that by repeating something thirty consecutive times, over thirty consecutive days, it becomes a habit. There are a few things I'd like to "get into the habit" of doing ..things that always involve a lot of procrastination if they get done at all. I do plan to put this theory to the test. Unfortunately this can't be applied to things like laundry and vacuuming, because you don't ...wouldn't want to ...do them everyday.
Repetition and practice have always been successful tools used in acquiring command of various skills. Even if you possess innate talent in a particular area, repetition and practice are necessary to refine and hone that gift.
When an activity or task require physical action, repetition trains the muscles, imbues them with the memory of the action, so that when called upon, they perform almost without being consciously activated.
Musicians (or at least the few that I know) are trained through hours and hours of practice to master their technique. But then when they play, they're instructed to forget about "trying" and just feel the music. The technique, the dexterity, the agility, the keyboard acumen ...will all be there as a result of physical memory and need not be a conscious endeavor.
An exercise used to increase keyboard speed is to practice typing as fast as you can with no regard for accuracy. After doing this for awhile, slow down just enough to assure accuracy. You'll find that you're actually typing faster than before.
Inspiration and passion count for a lot, but sometimes, it's just a matter of putting your ass in the seat and doing it ...and not using the absence of "the muse" as an excuse. George Sand ...I believe it was she ...had a practice of writing twenty pages a day, whether she was inspired of not, whether the words came effortlessly or not, whether the result was brilliant or not. Note that some situations will require the complete opposite action (i.e. getting up off your ass).
This also seems to work for the mind. There's a reading program that works on this same principle. You [train] the eyes to read over copy as fast as you can with no regard for comprehension. Then when you slow the process down enough to understanding what you're reading, you'll find you're reading speed has increased significantly ...or at least that's how the product promotes itself.
Repetition and practice are also aids in developing desirable habits. I was recently made aware of a concept that by repeating something thirty consecutive times, over thirty consecutive days, it becomes a habit. There are a few things I'd like to "get into the habit" of doing ..things that always involve a lot of procrastination if they get done at all. I do plan to put this theory to the test. Unfortunately this can't be applied to things like laundry and vacuuming, because you don't ...wouldn't want to ...do them everyday.
 | * For those who aren't familiar with the reference, this term comes from the movie "Karate Kid" in which the trainer assigned certain chores to the student. One such chore was waxing the car ...applying the wax in one specific motion, removing it with another (opposite) motion. After a lot of car waxing, the student's muscles had inadvertently acquired the memory of these motions which manifested (in his karate training) as automatic, involuntary, reflexive reactions. I guess you had to see the movie. |
Quote of the Week: "I'm such a good lover because I practice a lot on my own."
posted by gieau_sf (8:35:00 AM)
-- All non-relevant comments will be (have been) deleted!
7 Comment(s):
My mentor in poetry set me to writing poems with as many different forms as possible and would not allow me to write "free verse" until I did -- because I needed the discipline and understanding of rhyme schemes and rhythm. It was hard, but I eventually came to see that he was quite right.
I suppose discipline applies to most anything one wants to do well.
I so envy this quality in others. I'm aware that I am ...always have been... very undisciplined. This presents a problem when I want to accomplish something that doesn't "come naturally". Regardless of the conviction of my effort, I eventually waver when it comes to sticking to something I'm not enthused about.
Gieau, are you implying that you need to practice "getting off your ass"? Just kidding.
I do understand the concept of repetition. When I learned pottery and how to throw on the wheel it was only stubbornness and the sheer force of repetition that enabled to accomplish this task.
The same for my piano playing (just for home purposes). There are tunes that I learned as a teenager and played so often that I can still play them based on physical/muscular memory. Weird. I couldn't even tell you which note these pieces started with.
Before I ever "jammed" I had played trombone and guitar for six years. I new my scales and modes inside and out. I could sightread anything put in front of me.
I was so discouraged as a music teacher. Few kids wanted to put in the time to learn, the time to practice their art. When I left music I had had the satisfaction of knowing I trained a couple kids who had gone on to become professional. I feel good about that.
I've always thought that perhaps there is a writer in me somewhere but do I ever just sit and write? No. Blogging seems to have opened me up a bit but it's not the same. The other day another blogger challenged me to write a story on some kind of way that I do life 'differently' or against the norm. It is a theme that he has been working on with his own blog. He IS a writer. Anyway, it nagged at me for a week before I finally sat down and made myself write something. It turned out to be a condensed life bio and although it's no literally masterpiece I was amazed at how I felt when I was done with it. I'm not referring to emotions related to events that I was writing about. I mean, there was a sensation that I don't remember having felt before. I can't even really explain it. It wasn't overwhelming or anything; just different. Almost like having been somewhere else. Plus, the nagging in my head went away which was a good sensation all on it's own. But I MADE myself write. No inspiration came that week that just spilled out of me at some point. I had to sit there with discipline. Self discipline. It was a good sensation.
Schaumi: You may be kidding, but you hit the nail squarely on the head. Sometimes that procrastination gets out of control.
Lhonez: Whenever I see musicians "jamming" I'm so filled with envy. People say, "It's not to late to learn how to play the piano". I know it's not ...if only I had the discipline :(
Gloria: I think I understand what you mean. Writing is not only cathardic, it's creative. When you're inspired by the muse, it can seem like it's not even you doing it, but when you have to work for it, the feeling of achievement is so very gratifying -- (The fact that it'll never make the NY Times list is of no consequence).
I have always been fascinated by the study of bad habits and the unlearning of them. I usually don't follow through on the techniques I read about, though. I guess you could call that a bad habit. :)
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