I had a conversation with a friend recently, whose photography I greatly admire, about posting work that we aren’t necessarily satisfied with. The idea of the process as practice. I know that I have a long way to go before I feel more confident in my abilities, or before I like what I have made, but I also have learned that sometimes you just have to do the thing in order to learn from it. Plus, knowing that other people are going to see your work is a great motivator for working towards improvement. The evidence of progress can also be a learning tool.
I know from experience. Over the years that I have practiced my singing, having the recordings of my lessons has been immensely helpful. Partly as a tool for when I want to revisit something that I have learned, and partly as a frame of reference for how far I have come. I used to hate the sound of my voice. I hated listening to the recordings, the process of editing the audio was excruciating. I knew enough about music to recognize the mistakes, but not enough information about how to fix them. That I wasn’t as good as I wanted to be, but not yet how to get there. Over time that changed. I worked on it. I listened. As I improved I started to like the sound of my voice. Or at least, not to hate it so much. I grew in confidence in my abilities. I had developed the tool box I needed to know how to fix the problems. I had developed skill that made the problems that needed fixing less common.
Unfortunately, it’s not like you become a good singer and then get to stop practicing. You develop a set of skills, and then you have to use them. Otherwise they dull with time. Not unlike having a sharp knife. It’s a great feeling to have a sharp knife. But it takes maintenance to keep it that way.
This relates to a lot of things that I am trying to teach myself. To be a better (insert everything here) I must remember to practice, practice, practice. Continuing to work towards improvement. I am very happy to have this platform as a practice room. Thank you for listening to me play.
All of the best,
Amanda
This shot is me playing with my own shadow against the snow in South Lake Tahoe. I have been trying to take some moments as I can, to try new things.
