“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle
Whether it’s a solo performance, ensemble concert, or an audition, every musician knows the feeling of sweaty fingers and a racing heart when they stand in front of what can be an audience of maybe a hundred people, or a panel of judges. In the few seconds before the selected opening piece begins, there is no time to regret the lack of preparation for the current situation. This is where musicians master the act that goes along with “fake it ’til you make it.”
Sometimes, no matter how many hours of practice you put in a week, a page of thirty second notes in the key of B major simply does not become muscle memory… or at least, not easily. Personally, that is a problem for me, because muscle memory is my biggest crutch when it comes to performances. Aristotle said, “we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” This is my way of telling you that when I am in front of an audience, it is as if a switch is flipped and I go into “robo mode.” I put enough practice time into my week to play my pieces in my sleep – and for good reason!
I may be able to fake (and/or sweat) my way through site reading a piece in a lesson, but performances are a different story. Whether I am competing or not – there is too much on the line for me to painfully miss a key signature, or fall a measure behind the piano accompaniment in front of anyone! I guess you can say that for me, practice makes muscle memory… and it has to!
High School Music for the Advanced Mind 
Hannah- I really enjoyed this blog post! This reminds me of when I used to take piano lessons- I would never practice and always have to fake my way through every lesson. Your images were funny and added a nice touch to your post!
LikeLike
I relate so much to this! One time, I did a dance solo for a super big competition and I completely forgot the choreography. It was terrifying and I ended up improving the entire thing. I didn’t score well but that was to be expected. I really feel your pain when something unexpected happens in front of an audience.
LikeLike
This is very funny and relatable! Although I am not in band, I can tie this into basketball. Sometimes I forget some of they plays we run… Yikes!! Fake it till you make it! 🙂
LikeLike
I love the article’s title, for starters. It is immediately implying a humorous tone and draws the audience in! It was really cool how you were able to focus on your own experiences in this blog post, as that makes topics seem more relatable and credible. Just remember that, unless you’re in front of someone super knowledgeable, the audience doesn’t know what is right and wrong and cannot tell when you mess up, which means that they love it all anyways!
LikeLike