One thing that, I confess, bugs me incessantly is the prevalence of people offering advice in the form of “tips and tricks.”
Okay, there is a lot to be said for tips and tricks here and there, but all too often they are presented as the core system, when in fact they are always a secondary item to core basic understanding of the fundamentals, and a focused, full energy effort at executing them. Without that core of integrity, tips and tricks by themselves are worthless, even dangerous.
Something I learned long ago when I decided to become a professional musician and not just another wannabe bass student was, there were no “easy tricks.” I was actually slowed down and hindered by putting belief in various method books. I had dutifully followed every instruction and never really got much better. The real trick was in finally realizing there was no easy answer. You just have to grindingly go at it day after day. Real quality resulted from a highly repetitive, careful, intensely focused application of mental concentration and polishing of fundamentals, pushing yourself to your limts. Do it slow, do it right, do it slower, do it right. Repeat.
Not very romantic.
People often ask me why I don’t teach the bass. I am not sure any student would tolerate my approach of making them do such intensely dull work. I can’t make it easy. I don’t have a “method,” other than to sit there and use every single brain cell you have on what note you are playing right now. Tear it apart. Look at it again. Think about it. Use your perceptions. Experiment. Try every possible alternative. Compare them. Start over.
I use the same approach to my writing and speaking. I actually feel sorry for folks who put their faith in some quickie path to success.
There is an insidious element to tip and tricks, and that is, it tempts us to fall into a mode of believing we can achieve a goal without working hard. It tends to erode our faith in our own problem solving abilities. It tends to make us abandon our own unique perceptions and problem solving skills, and instead place our faith in some outside expert’s simplistic procedures. We come to believe that if we just believe and obey and follow instructions, we will achieve our goal.
I have come to believe that this common belief in easy answers is an outfall of the initial cultural shock of the machine age. True, there are handy devices that can, by throwing a switch, dig a ditch where it used to be you had to work all day to do it by hand. If we can save all that physical labor with a machine, why can’t we design a machine – i.e., tips and tricks – to do personal learning and thought labor as well? For simple math, sure. For achieving artisitic fulfillment and business success? Hmmm.
I made this terrible error when I first took up partner dancing. I occasionally saw some guy lead some “fancy pattern,”and of course I wanted to quickly learn that and feel empowered by doing so. I have since learned that every time I take a young lady out on the dance floor, the goal is not to worship a fancy pattern, but to focus my mind on where my partner is and what the music is calling for. There is no way to punch in a few numbers and let a mechanical process do all the work for me. If I did that, I would no longer be fully engaged, no longer listening. It misses the point. Avoiding work is clever sometimes, but sometimes it is counterproductive to your goal. Sometimes, hard work is good.
It’s all too common to fall into believing there is a computer or an outside system that, if we just do what it tells us, we will attain fulfillment. It’s an appealing idea, but it’s a false promise. Some things cannot be automated, and belief in them tends to erode the oh so necessary belief in ourselves (and the necessary patience with ourselves) required if we are to push ourselves to our greatest potential.
© Justin Locke
