Practicing is inseparably coupled with playing an
instrument, but why? Somehow, we need to develop the skills to get the sound we
want out of that instrument – so we can both enjoy our instruments and so the
dog will stop howling at our attempts! But why does it have to be through practicing? “I played it right once…
last week…” Sound familiar?
The goal of practicing is not to ‘play it right’, but to
build skills – to teach our brain what to do. Fingers don’t play music. Our brain plays music with our fingers. That
is a skill.
The human cortex is one of the most fascinating features of
human anatomy. If white matter is less than
intriguing to you, keep going. Maybe my sheer delight will be contagious.
The
cortex is home to language, abstract thought, movement and a host of other
skills that fill our everyday lives.[1]
But these cortex-tual skills are not inherent or automatic; they must grow.[2]
I would like you to meet Myelin. She is the stuff skills are
made of.
Myelin works with nerves to create skills. Every time a
nerve in our brain ‘fires’, myelin grows around that nerve. That is why the
neuron looks like tree rings are growing around it – the myelin is growing
around the nerve every time it fires. The myelin blanket makes the nerve
stronger and faster.
Everything we do starts with a nerve synapses. In order for
us to make a sound (verbalize) or walk down the street (movement), the cortex
must stimulate an action potential in a nerve, telling our bodies what to do.
The same thing must happen for us to hear a bird sing, or to see a sunset –
only the stimulation for these action potentials come from a stimulus outside
our bodies. Whether the stimulus comes from our own determination or the bird
singing on the lawn, myelin is there to wrap the nerve and make it stronger.
Where myelin grows, a skill is being created. The skill to
walk is born every time a toddler takes another step – the walking nerves are
getting myelinated. The skill to speak, read, write, ride a bike, sing and play
the piano are all born with the myelination of neurons. Yes, even the skill of
hearing smaller and more precise sounds can be myelinated.
But myelin only grows when the nerve fires, and then only a
tiny bit. To make the nerve stronger and faster, the nerve must be fired over
and over (repetition, repetition!). After
many repetitions of an action, the myelin becomes thick enough to act as
‘electrical insulation[3].’
The thicker the myelin sheath, the stronger and faster the skill.
This means incredible things for our practicing! Since we
fire our ‘music nerves’ when we practice, we can build the skills we need by
playing repetitively and growing myelin. Dr. Shinichi Suzuki knew how important
repetition was when he wrote, “Knowledge is not skill. Knowledge plus ten
thousand times is skill.[4]”
Now growing myelin can mean growing some awesome skills. But
that also means we can grow some pretty awful habits. If we practice correctly,
the ‘right’ nerve gets myelinated; if we practice incorrectly – maybe with
sloppy technique or rhythm that clashes with the synchrony of the universe – that nerve gets myelinated. Now the
wrong nerve is stronger and faster than the nerve that plays beautiful music. Which
nerve do you think will win?
Practicing correctly can be a big challenge; how can we
possibly keep from accidentally myelinating the wrong nerves? Itzhak Perlman
has the answer to that: practice slowly. “If you learn something slowly, you
forget it slowly.” By practicing slowly – sometimes painfully slow – we give
our fingers and brain enough time to find the right nerve. A myelinated nerve
forgets very slowly. (You can hear Mr. Perlman talk about practicing here )
So it's true: only perfect
practice makes perfect. And now you know why.
Let’s go practice! … I mean, myelinate!
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