{"id":2242,"date":"2019-11-07T12:22:41","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T19:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/?p=2242"},"modified":"2021-05-13T13:44:24","modified_gmt":"2021-05-13T19:44:24","slug":"the-importance-of-a-beginners-mindset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/the-importance-of-a-beginners-mindset\/","title":{"rendered":"The importance of a beginner\u2019s mindset"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I teach piano lessons to a few students every week. I have 4 students – ages 7, 8, 10, and\u2026 older than the other three combined. It\u2019s fantastic. Because every one of my students is beginner level, I get to be reminded every week of the importance of things like scales and posture and why we learn things in baby steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Being a teacher in any form is so great because you learn SO MUCH. Things my own piano teacher taught me suddenly make sense because I\u2019m able to see the end from the beginning. I understand why<\/em> we did things a certain way because my skills are more advanced. I recognize the wisdom in focusing so much on the basic skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a luxury beginners will never know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As beginners we rely on the experience and expertise of others. We learn from their mistakes, their instruction, and their wisdom. We learn to trust.
And then we mess up anyway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s fantastic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me tell you about a discussion I had yesterday with my adult piano student. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s my last lesson of the day, and she\u2019s eager to learn. (Sidebar:  I\u2019m so proud of her because she\u2019s doing something really vulnerable. It\u2019s scary to learn piano as an adult. It\u2019s scary to learn any<\/em> new skill as an adult. We feel like our opportunity to learn has passed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If only I had started this when I was younger, I\u2019d know what I was doing now.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It sucks to be a beginner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But only if you let it.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, we chatted about how learning to read sheet music is tricky, because there is SO MUCH going on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every single line or mark means something and since the music moves so quickly (even when it\u2019s slow) you\u2019ve got to learn to recognize everything nearly instantly in order to make it sound correct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s easy to get overwhelmed, especially as you practice. You feel like you should know ALL THE THINGS, even when no one has ever asked you to know all the things as a beginner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We talked about how a practicing order can reduce that overwhelm. First play through it and focus on the rhythm and the notes. Then once you\u2019re comfortable with those, go back and add in the dynamics (loud and soft). Then go back and add any additional markings, like accent marks or phrasing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I told her that we really weren\u2019t practicing these simple pieces to perform them in some grand hall. We\u2019re practicing them to learn HOW to practice. We\u2019re practicing them to learn basic skills that translate to bigger results later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And most importantly, I told her I never expect her to sit down and play something perfectly the first time. Never. And I don\u2019t expect perfection the second or third time, either. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I do<\/em> expect is progress. I expect her to learn from her mistakes and make improvements, no matter how small. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I expect her to practice slow, to not rush through anything she\u2019s learning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I expect her to understand that fast fingers come from slow practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I never expect perfection, especially at the beginning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A beginners mentality<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One thing that makes learning difficult as an adult is our association with people who have been doing what we\u2019re learning for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As kids, all our classmates are also beginners, so it\u2019s normal to be in a beginners mindset. Everyone is a beginner, so it\u2019s no big deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we get older, though, not everyone is a beginner. Some of us start things later than our peers, and we feel like an idiot for waiting so long to try. We recognize that if we had just started when we were a kid, we\u2019d be SO much further along by now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a great Chinese proverb that says \u201cThe best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I know it sucks to think about how much further along you\u2019d be if you had just gotten your act together and done something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But you weren\u2019t ready, so you didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s totally ok. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re ready now<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you start to recognize that you\u2019re not where you want to be, it\u2019s not time to be discouraged. It\u2019s time to celebrate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re recognizing that there\u2019s a gap between where you are and where you want to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is fantastic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now you\u2019ve got direction. You\u2019ve got a goal. And when you have a goal you can start to move towards it, no matter how slowly. Every single baby step counts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you know you want to learn the piano, your first step might be asking for piano teacher recommendations. The simple step of asking is a baby step forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Just keep learning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A true beginner\u2019s mentality is insatiable. A beginner is eager to learn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever been in a class where you just could.not.get.enough? You wanted to know everything the instructor had to teach. And then some. And then some more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a beginner\u2019s mentality. It\u2019s understanding how much you still have to learn, and enjoying every step of the process, no matter how difficult it becomes. It\u2019s understanding that as you learn and it gets more challenging, you\u2019ll grow. You\u2019ll understand more. Things will suddenly \u201cclick\u201d and you\u2019ll \u201cjust get it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This isn\u2019t chance. It\u2019s the way we learn.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be an insatiable learner.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep asking questions. Practice what you\u2019ve learned. Mess up. Fail. Learn from the messes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prepare for failure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Remember – statistically it is very<\/em> improbable that you will succeed the first time you try something. You will likely try, fail, learn, and try again. And then repeat. Over and over and over and over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will inevitably fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s ok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because it\u2019s only a true failure if you don\u2019t learn anything and you stop trying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps you learn that you don\u2019t want to keep trying. That\u2019s ok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps you learn a hundred ways to not do something. That\u2019s also ok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if you\u2019ve got a goal, keep moving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re a beginner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have a beginner\u2019s mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And hopefully you\u2019ll be blessed with a little beginner\u2019s luck, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I promise you that as you allow yourself to mess up you\u2019ll learn. And you\u2019ll improve. And you\u2019ll keep learning. And you\u2019ll keep improving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a very simple process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s life changing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t expect perfection. Expect progress.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Be kind to yourself. Just like I told my piano student, don\u2019t expect yourself to be perfect the first time. Or the second time. Or the third time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may take several passes of the same phrase before you learn the notes and the rhythm. It may take several passes after that before you have the dynamics and other markings down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s ok if you have to try something hundreds of times before you get it right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just start trying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make the first attempt. Get it out of the way. Then try again. And again. And again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t expect perfection of yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But demand progress. Demand growth. Demand learning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your goals, whatever they may be, are actually quite achievable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve just got to start as a beginner. 
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t expect perfection of yourself.
\nBut demand progress. Demand growth. Demand learning.
\nYour goals, whatever they may be, are actually quite achievable.
\nYou\u2019ve just got to start as a beginner. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,111,108,107,106,110],"tags":[124,123,121],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/tree-736887_1280.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2242"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2248,"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242\/revisions\/2248"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roxannemerket.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}