[October 12, 2011 - Fairfax, CA]
On Practicing in PublicThe Blank Slate takes up hours of my time. I'm constantly thinking about it. There's a great deal I'm writing about it that gets published elsewhere.
There is a lot of resistance to publishing publicly every day about the experience. Especially since there are numerous problems with the layout. It's difficult for me to let people see my own imperfect process.
There is, however, a time and place for public process. If I wasn't committed to documenting the journey here, something different would be happening. I'd probably not be working as hard.
It's like the edge that is present when you're in a writing workshop and dare to share what you are working on. The possibility of sharing work out loud always makes me more awake in my writing. More afraid. In a good way.
This is the creative practice. It's good to do much of it alone.
Doing it in front of others / with others teaches us where we hold back, hesitate, doubt, fear.
When I studied jazz piano with Alan Swain, he required his students to practice publicly. How?
We had to get out of the practice rooms of the music school (sound-proof booths big enough for a baby grand piano) and go out an commandeer an unoccupied public piano. In Chicago there are dozens of hotels with grand lobbies and grand pianos in them. Further afield, unoccupied pianos adorn many shopping malls.
When Alan mentioned that was part of the deal to study with him I nearly passed out.
We had to go and practice in public at least once a week.
Why?
Alan said: "You don't get good by practicing. You get good by playing. You have to get there and play."