I went to a band rehearsal last night – well, a partial band rehearsal. I have learned over the years that bands can be improved if certain sections of the ensemble hold rehearsals in addition to full band rehearsals.
Often there are songs that just don’t seem to be launching quite like they should. There may be rhythmic parts that seem to be interpreted differently among the band members or difficult passages that the group has trouble executing crisply.
The choices are:
- Abandon the song
- Keep it and put up with a ragged version
- Persist in efforts to fix the rough edges
The first two can be very tempting, especially the first option – why bang your head on the wall when there are so many other good songs out there that you could choose from?
It depends on your goals. And there’s no empirically wrong (or right) answer.
Me, I like challenges. So many times, I have known great satisfaction when dogged persistence paid off to solve problems.
These problems could be big or small. Solving a difficult song is a small problem, as is completing a crossword puzzle, reading a tough book or unraveling the knot in your shoelace. But when I beat these small challenges I learn that most problems will yield to persistent effort, and I remember the satisfaction I get from solving them – I learn something from the difficult book, I love the look of a crossword puzzle filled out (in ink!) and I like being able to tie my shoelace.
And when bigger problems come along, I have a more optimistic view that those problems can be solved and I go into the effort with that expectation, and look forward to reaping the rewards and even tackling the next one.
I watched some movies lately about mountain climbers (and rock climbers), and those people are the extreme example of tackling herculean challenges. But while I admire their commitment and effort, I don’t want to see myself free-climbing El Capitan, or bivouacking on sheer face of K2 – but hey, you guys go right ahead.
One of the most important things we can teach our children is to not fear challenges and learn to seek the benefits of persistence – and music is a great place to being that point home without any real risk of falling off a mountain.
