The Art Of Practice
If you’ve ever lived in New York, you might have found yourself looking forward to someone asking you how to get to Carnegie Hall just so you can respond with the age-old punchline, “Practice!” Funny because it’s true. In a world of fast food, fast cars, instant coffee, and instant messaging, we’ve grown impatient. We want it all and we want it now, especially that end result, without experiencing all the practice opportunities in-between. I know I have. When I was in grade school, my friend Britney (not her real name), played the piano. She could read music and play all the popular songs I’d heard on the radio. I remember how effortlessly her fingers hit the keys while she played. She made it look easy. I thought she was so cool. “I can do that,” I thought. I dreamt of playing the piano like a rockstar in front of friends and family. Yeah, I wanted to be cool. After several years of hounding my parents, I was rewarded with a piano and lessons from Britney’s piano teacher, Ms. Sparkle (not her real name). Then I promptly learned about the myth of overnight success. Ms. Sparkle started teaching me how to read music and play
