Falling and Flying

I write a lot about falling and failing.  And the reason I do is that the only way we can learn in most cases is to learn from our failures.  Thus our journey continues.

I’m becoming a fan of Neil Gaiman.  He says this in The Sandman, Vol. 6:  Fables and Reflections

“Sometimes you wake up.  Sometimes the fall kills you.  And sometimes, when you fall you fly.”

Let us focus on the falling and flying part today.

Did you know the post-it-note was a failure in attempting to discover a new glue formula for envelopes?  And the world is now covered in these handy pieces of paper.

The ice cream cone was invented when a waffle guy ran out of paper plates at the 1904 World’s Fair.  What a failure, yet what an invention.

Babe Ruth was the strike-out king.  He was also a home-run king.

Your mistakes do not define who you are.

I dropped my drum sticks the first time I carried a snare drum in marching band.  I am still considered a pretty good and steady drummer.

Learning happens after a fall.

Flying happens after a fall.

Be encouraged!

One Good Practice Day

Today, perhaps, was one good practice day for you and me.  Tomorrow may be the day from hell, but today … today was good.

Today I wrote well, I swung my club with ease

and accuracy, I used my bow with such fluidity, and the slide on my trombone seemed to glide on angel’s wings.

Today was a good practice day.

And that makes all the difference. 

When I have a day like today, it helps me face those tomorrow’s when I seem to have two left feet, when the strings sound like demons instead of angels, when the ball slices to places I’ve never been and never intended to go. 

If I can string enough good days together, I think I can master this thing called talent, or skill, or craft or whatever it is one might call what I do.

I will always remember – on good practice days nothing else matters.

Absolutely nothing.

Michael Biggs

Steps and Skips

Tips for the Developing Student

Take a Risk

Go ahead.  Take a risk. 

Sit down at the keyboard, or drums; pull out your clarinet or tuba; take a few whacks at the ball with your trusty seven-iron.

Take a risk.

Take a big risk.

Attempt to get better.  Improve.  Master a rough spot in your skill.

Life is a risk.  We don’t get anywhere by ignoring the risks.  We acknowledge them, and go and do the thing anyway.

Yes, there are risks.

You might not improve at all. 

You might hurt yourself by swinging too hard, losing your balance, bruising your lips or fingers or falling off the chair.

You might – but I doubt it.

You might get better.

You might improve and be inspired to come back another day for a risk-taking session.

Now wouldn’t that be something?

Michael Biggs

Steps and Skips

Tips for the Developing Student

Just Show Up

Today is my day to write five blogs.  Now is the time that I have set aside in my schedule to do this.  Thursday nights is another night that I specifically devote to writing.  Sometimes the ideas flow well, and at other times I question whether I am a writer at all. 

And I show up.

And so should you.  If you are like most individuals who practice some kind of craft, not every day, not every session and not every stroke is to perfection. 

Yet we show up.  We show up and apply our hand to our craft in an attempt to make it better.  We strike the tympani head one more time, we pluck the harp string again and again, and we choose our trusty nine-iron for yet one more swing in pursuit of perfection. 

We start our work with discipline and diligence, and then we wait for inspiration to show up.  Everyone loves inspiration.  Playing an A-scale is easy when inspiration abounds.  I can write like Hemingway when inspiration shows up.

And I write anyway.  I show up and do the task at hand because that is what I do.  I hope for inspiration, yet I practice diligence and discipline.

And so should you.

The main point is this:

Just show up.

  

Michael Biggs

Steps and Skips

Tips for the Developing Student

Touches

Here’s a picture for you.  Imagine a small room perhaps no larger than a triple-size closet, and inside of this closet is a young

soccer wanna-be. 

She practices ball control, kicks, stops, spins and all other kinds of ‘tricks’ that every good soccer player desires to master.

My point is this – she touches the ball thousands of times per hour compared to playing on a regulation soccer field.  And it is the number of touches that matter.

How many ‘touches’ do you make on your craft?  Do you play a clarinet?  How many times do you touch it, pick it up, and finger a few passages?  The same is true when holding a golf club, drum sticks, or any other craft that requires some kind of touch connection point.

And the more touches you get to do the better for your skill development. 

It’s all about building touch sensation, finger dexterity, foot control, and ultimately it boils down to building muscle memory.

Playing on a regulation size field is great, however, to become a ‘star’ on that field, first you need thousands and tens of thousands of touch moments in whatever your craft might be.

Touch is a good thing – a very good thing.

Michael Biggs

Steps and Skips

Tips for the Developing Student