If there was a single piece of advice I could give young people starting out in this line of work, it would be this: LEARN THE PIECES.
It is amazing really how often this is overlooked. Time and time again, (myself included), have looked at those bad shows and said 'what happened'?
Ninety percent of the time the answer is simple. 'I didn't know the pieces well enough and it lead to mistakes'
It is obvious when you think about it, but I would say it's the number one cause of bad shows. Whether it's because of lack of time, or laziness, overconfidence or something else it is what contributes mainly to mistakes.
That said, if we want to get ahead in music, especially if you work in a lot of different music situations, this is the way you can get ahead of a lot of people regardless of your level. We have all been in shows where you've been playing along side technically superior musicians, but when they don't know the material, who has the better result?
It's not easy to do. It takes time and energy, and I'm sure we all feel it's taking precious hours away from our scales and technical studies. Still, the message is clear to me, and I've had my fingers burned many times and probably not for the last time!
It is amazing really how often this is overlooked. Time and time again, (myself included), have looked at those bad shows and said 'what happened'?
Ninety percent of the time the answer is simple. 'I didn't know the pieces well enough and it lead to mistakes'
It is obvious when you think about it, but I would say it's the number one cause of bad shows. Whether it's because of lack of time, or laziness, overconfidence or something else it is what contributes mainly to mistakes.
That said, if we want to get ahead in music, especially if you work in a lot of different music situations, this is the way you can get ahead of a lot of people regardless of your level. We have all been in shows where you've been playing along side technically superior musicians, but when they don't know the material, who has the better result?
It's not easy to do. It takes time and energy, and I'm sure we all feel it's taking precious hours away from our scales and technical studies. Still, the message is clear to me, and I've had my fingers burned many times and probably not for the last time!
LEARN THE PIECES
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