The practice of ‘not practicing’

My piano teacher in college gave me some great advice at one of my lessons. I had just been asked to accompany a singer for an event, and some of the music was really challenging. The original accompanist had to cancel at the last minute, so I only had a day to prepare. My teacher told me, “Don’t bother practicing the stuff you think you can just sight-read off the page. Instead, go right to the difficult sections and find a way through it!” What great advice! I spent my time practicing what I needed to practice, and trusted myself to be able to read the other sections well enough for the performance. I focused on what needed my attention the most.

I find that this advice applies very well to Sunday mornings at our parish. I currently lead two groups that do not rehearse during the week. All are volunteers, and all arrive about 30 minutes prior to the start of Mass. Sometime during the previous week I will email them the list of songs we are doing, in case they want to look at them ahead of time. On Sunday, we don't have time to practice anything we ‘know,’ so we only focus on those songs that are new, particularly challenging, or somehow different than we’ve done them before. Sure, playing through a song we all know and like would sound great, but we need that time to settle in and focus on what might lead to a potential train wreck.

Think of it this way: do you practice the Mass parts every week? Probably not. Instead, you rely on the fact that you are really familiar with them; you know them; there is no real need to rehearse them. When they come up in the liturgy, everyone will be able to play them well.

The same can apply to the songs we know well. Instead, use your limited time (if, in fact, that is all you have) to ‘hit’ the spots that are troublesome or difficult. Don’t spend the precious time you have reviewing what is already familiar, or simple.

I find that I carry my teacher’s advice with me quite often. We all can. The more you play, the more you get used to seeing what’s on the page. Your sight-reading improves and you find that you have, perhaps, less areas to practice or “find a way through.”

Thanks, Carey. You were a great teacher.