The Art of Practice

Researchers say it takes, on average, about 10,000 hours to fully acquire a new skill.  As I pursue my piano studies, I am continually amazed at the things I am learning, not only about playing the piano, but also about the human brain.  It is truly a fascinating process.  The intricacies of that human organ are (to use a pun) mind boggling, and exciting.  Once you've experienced the "sensation", you're hooked and want to go back for more.

Progress comes unannounced and in little breakthroughs, but it feels like a landslide to the person experiencing it.  All of a sudden, my fingers seem to take on a life of their own and will catch me by complete surprise as I am playing a passage, in total wonderment of what I've just executed.  It is, to be sure, a fleeting moment, much like wanting to relive a beautiful dream.  

The natural tendency is to ask oneself, "what did I do special that time", "what was different"?  Sometimes I can put my finger on it - I was more relaxed or my hands were in a better position, etc.  But many times, that fleeting moment seems to defy my ability to find an explanation.  Progress seems to have a mind and timetable of its own, but yet studies show we can enhance the process.  One of the tricks my piano teacher has shared with me is making sure that I give my brain a necessary moment of time to register what I have just played accurately on the keys.  This was an important observation, as I tended to repeat a passage too quickly in succession, thereby not allowing my brain to catch up, as it were, with my fingers.  Also, I risked imprinting errors in my brain that way.  It can lead to a most frustrating outcome.  Although we're not aware of it, while practicing a new skill, a lot is going on.  This excerpt is from Wikipedia ("Muscle Memory"):

Memorizing is done by muscles as a note is seen and recalled, its auditory pair is learned and is matched by fingers movements (a fine motor skill).^[22] When reproducing a motor action, you must have previous experience with it to memorize set actions. If there is no previous experience there will be no mental image of the motion, and therefore no actual movement.^[22]

Certain human behaviours, especially actions like the fingering in musical performances, are very complex and require many interconnected neural networks where information can be transmitted across multiple brain regions.^[23] It has been found that there are often functional differences in the brains of professional musicians, when compared to other individuals. This is thought to reflect the musician's innate ability, which may be fostered by an early exposure to musical training.^[23] An example of this is bimanual synchronized finger movements, which play an essential role in piano playing. It is suggested that bimanual coordination can come only from years of bimanual training, where such actions become adaptations of the motor areas.^[24] When comparing professional musicians to a control group in complex bimanual movements, professionals are found to use an extensive motor network much less than those non-professionals.^[24] This is because professionals rely on a motor system that has increased efficiency, and, therefore, those less trained have a network that is more strongly activated.^[24] It is implied that the untrained pianists have to invest more neuronal activity to have the same level of performance that is achieved by professionals.^[24] This, yet again, is said to be a consequence of many years of motor training and experience that helps form a fine motor memory skill of musical performance.

It is often reported that, when a pianist hears a well-trained piece of music, synonymous fingering can be involuntarily triggered.^[23] This implies that there is a coupling between the perception of music and the motor activity of those musically trained individuals.^[23] Therefore, one's muscle memory in the context of music can easily be triggered when one hears certain familiar pieces. Overall, long-term musical fine motor training allows for complex actions to be performed at a lower level of movement control, monitoring, selection, attention, and timing.^[24] This leaves room for musicians to focus attention synchronously elsewhere, such as on the artistic aspect of the performance, without having to consciously control one's fine motor actions.

My piano teacher assures me that the momentary and fleeting occasions, when it all clicks, will begin to happen more regularly as I progress through my studies and strengthen my physical capabilities.  It is a very exciting process.  I am always striving to play each piece as closely to what the composer intended.  I like to think that Mozart, Haydn or Chopin is hovering over me as I attempt to please them with the execution of their piece.  Of course, there are many other processes going on while my hands are reaching for the keys on the piano:  1) are my arms relaxed?  2) am I sitting in a good position?  3) looking ahead to prepare for the next phrase 4) am I tensing my jaw?  5) watching the indicators for the music's dynamics, and on and on.  That the human brain can juggle all these at once is quite impressive.  

I am in the process of putting the finishing touches on my playing of Mozart's Sonata "Semplice" in C major, and even though I've played it countless times from day one until now, it has never come out the same way twice.  This phenomenon is also a product of the human brain.  Musicians find fresh nuances, a new development, or a different emotional interpretation to each piece, each time, making it possible to play something over and over again with renewed enjoyment.  I will keep marveling at the brain and enjoying my love of music for years to come!