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Accuracy Encyclopedia: Centering and More

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We now come to the letter C. There are several entries under the letter C in the book draft, thoughts to consider that will help with accuracy, which I will bundle together.

Center the pitch

One thing that will help accuracy is to play as much as possible at the center of the pitch.

This may seem like an obvious statement, but it should be mentioned that there is an alternate school of thought that says the secret is to play slightly below the center of the pitch. In a sense both schools are correct, they are just defining the center a bit differently.

On any horn, you have some freedom to bend the pitch, some horns more, some horns less, a freedom that is also impacted by mouthpiece choice. There is a range of motion over which you can bend the pitch sharp or flat without it breaking or jumping to another note. The upper limit is somewhat firm; on the downward side, you can normally bend the pitch somewhat further, especially in the lower range. Within the range that you can bend each pitch there is a central portion of the range of motion that is more stable, that is to say, there is a boundary at which you cannot bend the pitch easily down or up but you can pass this point if you force the pitch hard. Speaking very generally, the location you want to place the pitch in is at the lower end of this central, more stable area of the pitch for any given note on the horn.

I have come to call the ideal pitch placement the “resonant center” of the pitch. This location can be found either by “feel” or by listening to the tone color. There is a “sweet spot” where the tone is the most resonant and beautiful, a “pocket” that is a stable location you can place any note in.

Chops

The chops are certainly important and intimately related to accuracy. You must keep fresh physically and mentally to play at your best! If my chops feel good I feel that I should expect to play well, but if they feel bad it is like I already have two strikes against me and plenty of reason to feel anxious. Chops for me also relate to the buzz behind the notes; if you are buzzing on center you should not miss.

Clear mental picture

Part of hearing the note clearly is having a clear mental picture of what you are trying to play before you play it. One of the most important foundations to this is listening to music. It may seem like an obvious aid, but you have to have that mental model in place to know if you are getting the desired result or not. For more on this topic see Audiation

Conductors and cues

There is a short series of articles in Horn Matters related to the topic of conductors and horn players (here). Conductors like to try to help you, but they can really make accuracy difficult. The big cue is especially not a good idea. A conductor should give a cue that shows trust for the hornist, communicating that they feel you can do it.

Confident playing

I say this to students often. Years ago, I figured out that I tend to be more accurate if I just go for it. It is counterintuitive, but when you play on the careful side you tend to miss more. If you are a teacher, you need to encourage students to play confidently – GO FOR IT! – they will be more accurate. Trust that you will get it – with a trust based on practice, good chops, etc.

Connections between fingerings and sounds

There is certainly a connection between fingerings and sounds built up over time. This can really become obvious when you try to play another related instrument with different fingerings such as a descant horn or with no fingerings such as a natural horn.

You can embrace this and make use of consistent fingerings to enhance accuracy. It is probably also a function of repetitions, but when you can hear/feel for example 4th space D (T12!) in your heart, your accuracy will be enhanced.

This is an installment of a series on accuracy, drawn from notes developed for a book on the same topic. The series starts here.

More Memes for Horn Players and Teachers

Some more memes from my fall meme project. Brief comments after each one.

My story with Kopprasch 1. You?

This is a quote from the Farquarson Cousins book.

Sometimes it feels that way.

This is a quote from the Farkas book. Personally, this is about the funniest one in this article, but it may just be a horn teacher thing.

Kind of random but sometimes the trills are a bit much.

This is based on a quote in the Harry Berv book on building endurance.

This might be another Verne Reynolds quote.

This is based on something a friend had requested of them in a lesson. Playing Neuling that way would be quite the low range workout.

And something a little brighter close. Ahh, about time for some Maxime-Alphonse. Oh, and I’ll add one more — I think I’m past the meme making for a while now.

Memes: Updated Verne Reynolds Memes

Back in 2014 I posted an article (here) comprised of “Hornist Hamster” memes that were all Verne Reynolds quotes. It is kind of a niche type of meme, but in any case this fall I got inspired to revisit them and apply the Reynolds quotes to a variety of meme templates. A group of them are below, enjoy! Some were heard from friends or are quotes from his book. When appropriate I’ve added brief notes on them as well.

UPDATE: Added way at the end is one new one, hat tip to Horn People group for a quote from page 71 of his book. It applies really to any etude number 10.

Hey Vern! I mean Verne.

I know he liked my very fast single tonguing.

Very wise words.

This next one is inspired by something he said in a lesson, he considered Strauss 2, Gliere, and Gordon Jacob to be the 3 big concertos for horn.

He said the below in one of my lessons.

Oh, said this too.

And this.

This next one, I’m not sure if he was quoting someone else or not (Farkas said something similar), but it was said in a lesson of mine and probably to other students. It was meant ironically/negatively, not as humor.

Finally, this last one is based on a quote I wrote down in my notes the very first time I met Reynolds. He was giving a master class at Wichita State and I was a senior at Emporia State, I went to Eastman for MM study the following fall. The actual quote is he was listening primarily for “Accuracy, Intonation, and Rhythm.” At the time I wrote in my notes what about musicality? Remember, that is exceedingly important too.

UPDATE: This is in reference to Maxime-Alphonse book 6, but applies to any etude book really.

Looking back: How did I learn to play short notes and single tongue quickly?

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The related topics of playing short notes and tonguing quickly come up in lessons all the time.

At some point every horn player must learn how to play very short notes, a very dry and pointed staccato. I know some of the ways I go about teaching these skills, and I know how some other teachers do it, but thinking back now it is an interesting question to me — how did I actually learn the skill? And also, fast single tonguing?

Somehow, I figured it out on my own

I had to go back to my cassette tape collection to find the oldest audition tape that I still have. It was recorded in the spring of my freshman year of college, and on it I played the third movement of the Ralph Hermann concerto. It is not a very well-known piece, but it was on a James Chambers record in our listening lab, and there was sheet music in the main library at Emporia State.

The recording was made as an audition tape for the Kansas Bandmasters Association Intercollegiate Band. At the time I was playing a Holton 177 horn with a MDC, and it was before I had any lessons with a horn playing horn teacher! (And I was still on my original 2/3 lower lip embouchure, and maybe even before I read the Farkas book). I was very green. While my high school band director (Mr. Hodges) was a horn player, I never had any lessons with him (although he did show me how to hold the horn, etc.). By the middle of high school I was taking lessons – and my first two “horn” teachers were both trombonists (!), including Mr. Nixon, who had become my major professor in school. I started college as (of all things) a music business major.

Mr. Nixon had been the band director at Emporia State for some years, but by this point was teaching music education classes and the horn studio. Of his instruction, I only recall low-key, low-pressure instructions. I don’t remember him emphasizing short articulations, dynamics, fast tonguing, etc. But clearly, I was doing them rather well on this recording in my freshman year. I suspect he wanted me to do those things well, too, but had non-demanding tactics to get them, honed from his years of being a band director.

Don’t over teach

Which is to say yet again, “over teaching” of certain skills can lead to having problems doing those same skills. I try to be very careful of this in my teaching, but, of course, when someone has trouble with skills you have to find ways to try to make them better. But I’m glad that Mr. Nixon did not push me real hard with tons of suggestions — he let me work it out myself.

“Normal Kopprasch”

I worked through Kopprasch etude by etude as an undergrad, starting during my freshman year of college. I still have (and use) my original copy.

I would add that Mr. Nixon had me do Kopprasch 1 in exactly one lesson and I’ve never gone back to it ever again with a horn teacher. Teachers that are extremely demanding with Kopprasch 1 in particular puzzle me a little, but I’m sure they have specific things they are looking for (attention to detail, etc.).

The very demanding teacher and “extreme Kopprasch”

I could name names, but certain teachers pride themselves on being very demanding in Kopprasch. I’m not convinced this is the best use of time, but certainly within some studios a Kopprasch Club does become a thing that unites them (against a common enemy!).

Returning to the demanding teacher topic, I have shared before how for me Verne Reynolds was the very demanding teacher. He certainly fine-tuned my ability to play very short articulations and extreme dynamics, but we never did Kopprasch in any lessons! I used Maxime-Alphonse book 4 with him and the Barbeteu Vingt Etudes Concertantes Pour Cor. And he very much liked my very fast single tonguing — at one point he told me (and this is a direct quote) “John, you tongue like a one-eyed black snake.”

The effective teacher

I try when I can (in the big and small picture) to teach prescriptively, to use materials that relate to problems that need solved. All teaching is with individual students, and so many factors relate. It often takes a while to peel down the layers of the onion to try to find the most natural and effective approach. But then again, often enough you can make a lot of progress in the right direction quickly with just simple suggestions. Because,

Learning styles do vary

Fortunately for me, Mr. Nixon was very low key on all of this and with only gentle instructions and encouragement I got a great start. For others, this might not work – a more direct approach with very specific instructions and demands could be the answer. In any case though, I was intrigued to listen again to freshman John Ericson playing horn. Some rough edges for sure (and no low range!) but I could certainly tongue short notes and single tongue quite fast (and get up to a high C#!) before I had had regular lessons with a horn playing teacher. Makes me kind of glad in a way that I did not start traditionally, and in a time with no social media.

Accuracy Encyclopedia: Breath Attacks and Buzzing

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There are two entries under “B,” the topics of breath attacks and buzzing. Both have positive and negative points to consider.

Breath attacks, a risky strategy

There is a section in the Hornmasters series on the topic of breath attacks. It is a somewhat controversial topic, as it can be risky.

How so? I think what happens is people get afraid of their tonguing setup and shift to trying not to tongue at all. This is not the reason to do a breath attack!

Breath attacks, a helpful tool

How breath attacks help is they help you better define your synchronization overall. Tonguing of any attack needs to be done in just one motion, nothing stops. The breath attack should be exactly the same overall motion, with just the addition of tonguing to give even more definition. But you should be starting the note essentially the same way as a breath attack, the only difference is you don’t articulate with the tongue.

Try it! You may be pleasantly surprised how breath attacks are a valuable practice technique. But I would suggest avoiding breath attacks in any real musical context. (Although the opening of Oberon overture might be, for example, a good passage to start as a breath attack, depending on your comfort).

Buzzing: Not like horn playing

Over in the Hornmasters series there is information to be found on Buzzing from the Brophy book. Brophy was a fan of buzzing, but not all horn teachers are.

My own teachers ranged from neutral to negative on mouthpiece buzzing. For some for sure part of the problem was that they understood that a buzz that sounds good on a mouthpiece does not sound good on a horn, and that a buzz that sounds good on a horn sounds hollow and unfocused on a mouthpiece alone.

Buzzing as a practice technique for accuracy

That being said, for years I have found buzzing on the mouthpiece to be a great tool toward accuracy. It confirms clearly if you have the mental picture of the music correct, and if you have the physical control to make that mental picture happen. If you find yourself missing a note in a passage, buzz the passage and it will be clear why you are missing it.

Testing a first note pitch before the entrance on the mouthpiece is another great tool to apply to accuracy. A BERP can be a handy tool in this regard too.

This is an installment of a series on accuracy, drawn from notes developed for a book on the same topic.

Continue in the Accuracy Encyclopedia

Accuracy Encyclopedia: Audiation and Autopilot

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Finishing up the “A” topics, we have audiation and autopilot

Audiation, or, hearing what you plan to play before you play it

It is harder to accurately play music that you can’t “pre-hear” in your head. One angle on understanding this is audiation, for which The Gordon Institute for Music Learning offers this helpful description. Audiation is

… a cognitive process by which the brain gives meaning to musical sounds. Audiation is the musical equivalent of thinking in language. When we listen to someone speak we must retain in memory their vocal sounds long enough to recognize and give meaning to the words the sounds represent. Likewise, when listening to music we are at any given moment organizing in audiation sounds that were recently heard. We also predict, based on our familiarity with the tonal and rhythmic conventions of the music being heard, what will come next. Audiation, then, is a multistage process ….

The part about predicting what will come next is an especially important one in relation to accuracy. Even in unfamiliar music, if it is predictably tonal, you can anticipate the chords and where the voice leading might be going. Also, by repetitions of music in personal practice or rehearsal, you have a stronger feeling of where the music is going (not to mention if you have listened to recordings!).

This only scratches the surface of an important topic. For more, check the Gordon website already linked.

Autopilot

This seems like bad advice, but there is something to be said for playing on autopilot, not particularly thinking about anything related to accuracy. Just play and trust that automatic processes will allow you to be accurate.

But how? Actually, part of it is our previous topic, audiation. You know how the music goes because you know or anticipate how it will go. And another part of that was also just touched on, if you have played many repetitions of something, you will tend to reproduce it more accurately over time due to a combination of many factors.

For a practical angle on this, to have audition success you need to be able to play excerpts very well on sort of a high-level autopilot. The mind is quiet, you are simply just playing in the moment and allowing your automatic process to produce the music. Again, it sounds like bad advice but I relied on this for sure when I was taking my 30 professional auditions back in the day.

And put another way, when has trying to be more accurate helped? There is a point where you just have to trust yourself that you know it as well as you can – and then just play it.

This is an installment of a series on accuracy, drawn from notes developed for a book on the same topic. The series starts here.

Continue reading the Accuracy Encyclopedia

Navigating Performance Anxiety

For our second Brass Area of the semester the ASU brass faculty had a panel discussion, part of our Career Forward series, on the topic of “How we successfully navigate performance anxiety.” We each brought different ideas to the table, providing some broad perspectives that went well beyond the conventional wisdom.

As to myself, I had prepared notes on a few topics I wanted to get to, which I hope that Horn Matters readers might find interesting as well.

The one who executes the best is the best

This topic I wanted to mention, but actually a colleague brought it up first and covered it well. The essential thing is that you can be the “better” player, but if you execute less well than another player (who is not as strong) then, reality is, that player is actually better than you. If performance anxiety is what leads you to not execute your best, you really have to find some tactics to deal with it. The exact tactics you use will likely be different than mine, we are all wired differently. But you need to find them, it is of importance.

Something I’m a little sad about

This one is hard to explain, but I’ll try to do a short version, as I mentioned it to the brass studios also.

The series of horn lessons during my Masters study with Verne Reynolds were among the most stressful experiences of my life. While on one hand I am grateful, I learned a lot and I survived (although somewhat burnt out by the end), plus, almost nothing I experience today is as stressful as those lessons were. Orchestral auditions were certainly not as stressful, they were more of an adventure in working on great music and developing personal focus. On the other hand, I feel I lost something — from that lesson experience I simply don’t feel stress the same way as other people. Maybe that is good and was good for me. But I still would have preferred a healthier, more positive lesson experience those two years. A longer article from a few years ago on things I learned with Verne Reynolds may be found here.

I am optimistic

I have also posted about this before in Horn Matters – I’m not fearless, but I am optimistic as I approach things in life in general. In terms of horn playing, I’m optimistic if I’m warmed up nicely and I know the music! If I know I can’t play the music and my chops feel bad, I have plenty to feel anxious about. Don’t set yourself up for failure in terms of chops and knowledge of the music. More on this topic here.

Playing only to the best of my ability

Another related element is that I have long taken the approach and mindset that I am only trying to play to the best of my ability in any situation. At that point, I leave the judgements to others. When things go bad, often at issue was I was trying to impress people. Don’t try to impress anyone! Just play to the best of your ability.

Relying on the ability to do something again and again

Often you hear people say that they could play it better in the practice room. I have a more objective approach that if I can play something correctly in the practice room I can duplicate it in any other situation. But you need a clear head and mindset, mentally in the zone, etc. Essentially (and I know this sounds like terrible advice), what you want to develop is sort of a high level “autopilot” that can replicate any passage you know very well again and again. That ability is what can win the audition.

Speaking of the Inner Game and mental centering …

**See this article for more of my recent thoughts on the inner dialogue and horn playing. It was only a side point in the brass area session, but I think an interesting one.

**And see this recent article for more on mental centering and the warmup. These together can certainly reduce your performance anxiety, especially for auditions and other important performances.

A mindset based on faith

This final topic I did not get to in our Brass Area session. I have written about this several times in Horn Matters, this article being the longer one. Short version: Farkas related in The Art of Musicianship that, in so many words, as he began his career he felt inexperienced and unsure of himself. As well he could have; he had his first principal horn job before he graduated high school! He was a younger person than virtually any other member of his orchestra. But over time he realized that

It was a series of incredibly interwoven and predestined events which put me there…. Because I had been led there, certainly I could do the work assigned to me, and failure was not part of that plan.

It is a good way of thinking of things. You could have all sorts of negative thoughts when performing, feelings of imposter syndrome, etc. But actually, you can turn those thoughts toward a faith that you were led to that moment, and, because your higher power and providence guided you there, this is something you actually can do. A positive mindset based on faith. The idea won’t resonate with every reader, but I’m sure for some it does have a significant resonance.

With that I will simply repeat that there really is no one way to manage performance anxiety, we are all wired differently. I hope that my above ideas give you some new angles to consider. Good luck!

Accuracy Encyclopedia: Air and Alternate Fingerings

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Today as we continue our tour the subject of accuracy we have two unrelated topics, air (the use of) and also alternate fingerings (pro and con).

The use of air as it relates to accuracy

For me, the proper use of air has a lot to do with starting notes accurately — that single motion that is the breath/set/play motion. It all happens in time (and at one time), with a consistent feel.

There is a general concept that is going to come up in multiple articles in this series, the concept of the timing of everything. Focusing now on the air part of the equation, if your air lags slightly behind your tonguing or your embouchure set, you will have accuracy issues. Closely related, you can’t bottle up air as part of that motion and expect to play as accurately either.

If you have an issue with this, it can be hard to recognize in yourself, as it all seems normal to you. It is just how you normally play! But there is an issue to address, and this is why you need clear feedback from a teacher.

For some players, I know that there is an underlying, deeper topic related to mental centering of which breathing is a central activity. This one is harder to explain, but there are some concepts in yoga that may relate. Suffice to say that the breath and a consistency of breathing can draw you mentally into playing the note.

In short though, there is a consistent way of doing things that gives you the horn player more confidence when it is going right. The use of air is part of that, and it can contribute to improved accuracy.

Alternate fingerings help accuracy

Conventional wisdom is that alternate fingerings may help your accuracy. And they certainly can, at least in part because your thumb is your least facile digit – staying on the Bb horn can give not only better response but a better fingering pattern. But also —

Alternate fingerings hurt accuracy

What? A plain fact is our sense of pitch is tied up with fingerings. As an example, let’s say that you have to play a D on the fourth line. Even just reading these words, mentally you probably put down the fingering (and certainly you have a mental T12 fingered by now), and with this further suggestion you can sense the tension of the lips and the sound of the pitch. There is a whole package of feelings that are tied up with that note, enhanced by the mind-boggling number of repetitions of that note over a lifetime.

When you use different fingerings than normal it impacts the feel (“taste”) of the note and your sense of pitch. As a result, you may find yourself to be less accurate until the pattern is worked out fully. This is also one of the challenges of stopped horn, the fingerings are “wrong” and it impacts how you feel the note.

Continue in Accuracy Encyclopedia

This is an installment of a series on accuracy, drawn from notes developed for a book on the same topic. The series begins here.

Mental Centering and your Warmup

On social media very recently, I saw a brief comment pass by related to how warmups helped with mental centering.** That thought resonated with me strongly, and I think is one for every good horn player to consider.

What is “mental centering”?

It is a term that will mean different things to different people, and even to me it means something different in different situations. Certainly, the term is used in yoga and martial arts, where in the latter especially it would help you remain focused in stressful situations. For others, it relates also to mental wellness, being at your center, feeling less anxious generally.

But for sure an element of the French horn the warmup is that the process helps you get in your “zone” mentally, to be ready to perform on multiple levels (physical/mental). Or it could be!

When do you warm up?

For me, I have long preferred to warmup at the hall or someplace very close at hand, right before the performance or rehearsal. My feeling was it set up my chops better, but also, I can see how the process of warming up brings you mentally into “performance mode.” Ideally, I would time it to be fully warmed up about 5 minutes before the performing session.

Other players, fine players, have a very different tactic, where they warm up in the morning and then they are essentially warmed up for the rest of the day! This could work for you, as each person has different routines and needs. It never has for me, and I think the mental centering side if this is part of why the one-time, big warmup does not feel as good. But, again, I can see that others could feel fully warmed and centered for an entire day with the right routine. We are all different.

Application: Using the warmup to center before an audition

Potentially one of the most stressful types of performances is the audition. I have mentioned elsewhere in this site that I took 30 professional auditions for full-time jobs, and the Nashville audition I won was my 25th audition. By then I very much had a routine for preparation that involved in part a very consistent warmup that was done before every rehearsal or performance. The full routine was done multiple times a day, and when I described my method to Farkas in one of the handful of lessons I took with him he told me I warmed up too much. Which was hard info to process at the time. But I still tend to think the consistent warmup and timing of the warmup helped me to center in on my performances.

And I still like to warm up

I’m not performing nearly as much now (due to family considerations), but I am playing every day, and part of that is always warming up. Which I, to be honest, enjoy. That physical activity just makes me feel good. Realizing now that there is also some mental component related to centering, and ultimately mental wellness, is a very interesting thought to me, and hopefully one that will resonate with you.

What if I don’t like to warm up?

I would suggest that you might want to rethink what you are doing. A brutal daily routine that covers all aspects of technique might not promote centering and mental wellness. A correct warmup should leave you ready to play well, not beat up mentally or physically.

Bonus: Other music for centering and mental wellness?

I must say, for older players, Kopprasch tends to mean something different than for a student. Kopprasch becomes part of the routine, a routine that helps that player feel at center. When the Kopprasch feels good, everything feels good! (For me, I often refer back to number 40 as “my” Kopprasch etude. When it feels right, I can play anything). This is part of the long-term appeal of Kopprasch. You could use any piece really, and finding/defining a piece as “your” piece is also something to consider working in as a healthy part of your physical and mental routine.

**I like to give credit where credit is due, it was a Facebook post, but looping back to check, the person who I thought posted did not, and I can’t remember who the post was from. If/when I figure out who had this great thought, I will add credit here.

Accuracy Encyclopedia: Adjust your Thinking

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In notes dating back to 2008 I’ve been working off and on toward a possible book on accuracy. Some of the notes have found their way into Horn Matters here and there (click here for a list of articles on the topic), but a lot of it is new material that I anticipate I will be adding to the site over the next year or so in this new series.

Accuracy: A touchy subject

Accuracy can be a touchy subject. Some horn teachers seem to view it as their personal mission to point out all of your mistakes as a way to improve your accuracy. To be more specific to my own studies, Verne Reynolds during the years of my Masters study certainly did this. The problem with this method is that lessons can degrade to sort of an “accuracy through fear/survival of the fittest” experience or some version of an aversion training session. It is not a healthy situation for anyone.

While there is value in giving clear feedback and setting expectations for students, my feeling is that most horn players actually basically know what they missed. Furthermore, trying hard to be accurate often results in worse results overall; when you as a player trust yourself, and let it happen you will tend to be more accurate.

With that being said, there are tactics that can help improve accuracy and can be applied as you practice the horn.

At least 1,000 ways to miss notes!

From conductor perspective, conductors it seems to me often think the reason horns miss notes is they are either not that good, or they are nervous or not focused enough. But I can assure any conductor reading this, I can be completely relaxed and focused and still miss notes!

As to why we miss notes, as players and teachers we tend to gravitate toward certain reasons in our own thinking. On a high level, players are not missing notes because they can’t hear them. I tend to think in my own case that I am mostly missing because my chops are not set quite exactly right. Other fine players I have known have focused on the tonguing being just right, or on the air as being the culprit that sends notes flying in the wrong directions if not managed just right. But, really, there are at least 1,000 ways to miss a note.

Adjust your thinking

Which brings us to the topic for this first article. This series will address topics alphabetically, so the first topic for the encyclopedia has to do with adjustments related to your concept of “good enough.”

We are all wired differently, and I think a lot of good horn players are the type that tend to be hard on themselves. Being very critical of yourself is not going to help your accuracy, it tends to only make it worse. In the big picture, you will do better if you trust yourself more and tried less hard to play perfectly.

There are, by the way, a LOT of reasons you might be missing notes and lack of effort is probably not one if you are in the hard on yourself category of player. For just one example, you really might find a change of mouthpiece or horn ups your accuracy level instantly. Experiment!

But we are all wired differently. Yet other horn players, I begin to think that they are so used to having accuracy problems that missing some percentage of notes just seems normal to them. They think they are playing well or at least well enough. But actually, they could, I think, correct some problems quickly with some very focused effort and hit a higher level – if they insisted on a better result.

Like lots of elements of accuracy, it is complicated. Extreme thinking either way causes problems. But if you see either of the extremes of concept as being close to your normal, give yourself some space to experiment and adjust your thinking, it might just help.

Continue in Accuracy Encyclopedia

This is the first article of a series on accuracy, drawn from notes developed for a book on the same topic. Articles will follow roughly every week.