On Repetitions

The 10,000 Repetition Challenge is complete and I am reveling in the outcome. Not only did we reach 17,357 repetitions as a group, but the progress that I have seen from individual players has been immense. It all comes down to not necessarily working more, considering those who completed many repetitions concluded it really didn't increase their practice time at all, but it's about working smart - working productively. This is an incredible lesson to learn.

At the last Parent Education Night I showed a video of a girl with her dad who is trying over and over again to jump up on a fairly high stool for her size. She takes what looks like some rough falls but her dad is there guiding her, supporting her and cheering her on. She always gets back up and tries again just as hard. In the last attempt we see, her dad comes over and whispers something we can assume is encouraging and then gives her a kiss and a gentle tap. She takes a breath and then with all her strength makes the jump.


This girl is taking one skill and doing it over and over again until she succeeds. She doesn't know when she will succeed, she doesn't know how many more times she will fall in the process. All she is focusing on is doing her best and whatever she can to land that jump. Over and over again, until she gets it.

What we don't see is the aftermath of this practice. Most likely she will fall quite a few more times if she keeps at it, but will also start to land it more and more times like she did the first time. Success Breeds Success. If we know we have done something once, we have the ability to do it again. If she were to stop practicing now, she can always say to herself she did it, but she won't be able to continue doing it regularly unless she keeps practicing.

This is the power of repetitions and repetitions on the violin are no different. They can be small and specific and maybe not as powerful feeling as a full body jump, but they can be just as fulfilling when accomplished.

Repetitions can be applied to all areas of our life that we want to succeed at. Who knows why being able to jump onto this stool is such an important skill for her to learn? But to her, it is and having dad encouraging her makes it even more meaningful. We all have things that we want to improve at, and only through doing it over and over again can we truly learn about ourselves and about the skills we are trying to achieve.

Even though the challenge is complete, keep up the repetitions and keep working smart and productively!