Klarinet Archive - Posting 000428.txt from 1997/06

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: How to make Stacatto?
Date: Mon, 23 Jun 1997 23:43:51 -0400

On Sun, 22 Jun 1997, Robert and Deborah Shaw wrote:

> That old adage "PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT" seems full of wisdom to me.

It's only full of wisdom if it is amended by copying the last word and
putting it in front. A person can practice for 100 years and never
achieve what they're after. *How* we practice is more important than
the number of hours we put in. If one practices with proper mental
focus and with proper technique, then progress will come in far less
time than if that same person flounders about for hours each day,
waiting and hoping that the right sound and physical sensation will
reveal itself spontaneously. Thus, by the law of averages, practice
indeed will *eventually* make perfect, because a person, given enough
time, will eventually stumble upon the right technique and then know
what to practice from that point on. But the truly wise adage is
"perfect practice makes perfect".

Neil