Where Perfection Meets Possible

Perfectionism has a bad reputation.

We have heard about all the evils of perfectionism – the frustration, the self-doubt, the endless critiquing.

But is perfectionism the same thing as trying to get your piece correct, trying to make it right and without mistakes?

And if we allow that we can’t achieve perfection, what’s the point in trying? Do we stop practicing at some point and say, “Never mind, it’s good enough?”

More to the point, if even the masters of our instrument don’t feel that they deliver perfect performances, where does that leave the rest of us?

I believe that there is a balancing point, a way to keep that impossibly high standard before us without sacrificing our sanity. I think that we need to work at a place I’m calling the intersection of The Perfect and The Possible.

Imagine yourself standing in a circle. This circle is your musical progress at this point in time. You have some pieces you can play, but you have more you want to accomplish. Perhaps you struggle in your practice, or your technique needs work. Maybe it takes you a long time to learn a piece and even then, you can’t play it without mistakes. This is where you are now.

But just over there, close enough that you can see it, is another circle. Inside that circle the music is perfect. There are no mistakes, no misplaced fingers, no wrong notes. The music is expressive and filled with feeling. . It looks beautiful, radiant, glowing with all the colors of the rainbow.

The only problem is that the second circle isn’t real. You can’t touch it. Just like a real rainbow, you can put your hand through it, but you couldn’t grab hold of it, even if you could reach it. Every time you try to touch it, it moves a little farther away, just beyond your grasp.

But then you discover a curious thing. Every time you play music inside your own circle, the rainbow circle gets brighter. And over time as you continue to practice and learn, the rainbow circle sometimes shoots rays of light over to you. At last you realize that the circle isn’t somewhere out there where you can’t reach it. The circle is coming to you in bits of light and color.

That’s because perfection isn’t possible. It isn’t real. But it is possible for you to make your music glow with that rainbow light. This is how you find that intersection point between perfection and possible.

1. Continue to develop your understanding and appreciation the fine points of music. Beyond the notes and the rhythms, learn about the means and reasons of musical expression. Listen to the great performers and try to hear and articulate what makes their performances special.
2. Increasingly incorporate those elements in your daily work. Make your practice about becoming a better musician, not just a better note player. Even the simplest music will benefit with thoughtful preparation. You don’t have to be a great artist to try to play like one.
3. Never settle for less than you can do, not what you might do or should do, but what you actually are able to do. Strive to do your best (not someone else’s best) and understand that your best is good enough for right now.
4. Always remember that you are not pursuing perfection, you are pursuing growth. Growth over time, even in small increments, will make those flashes of light that look like the ones in the rainbow circle.

Put aside your impatience and your frustration with what you can't achieve, at least not right now. Tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, who knows?