Perfect Imperfections

Tonight was another beautifully productive evening at the Revival Studio. Bob and Dan hit the tracks early and recorded drums for Walking Bag Blues. Then we made our way through our first two sets, deciding on the order of songs & mostly playing straight through.

Our biggest hiccups are when trying to play other peoples’ songs. We strive to honor the bones of the song and do justice to the original creators while putting our own twist on it. We often spend more time going over perfecting a classic then we do writing some of our own tunes. Regardless of what we are honing in on, I value practice as time well spent & it made me think of two seemly conflicting quotes or schools of thought regarding practice & perfection.

In my youth I had an instructor who modified the common phrase “practice makes perfect” - they extended it to “perfect practice makes perfect,“ that really stuck with me. If you train sloppy, you will perform sloppy, simply put. As a recovering perfectionist I attempt to first & foremost enjoy the process & then execute my role as close to ideal as possible - that’s my “perfect.” I envision the scene, picture the crowd’s reaction, and try to connect to the feeling of what it will be like with a Live audience & of course I sing my heart out. Some nights it might not be perfect note for note, word for word but that’s what practice is for, to allow for enough attempts to lock it in & get it just right & explore where changes can be made or how subtleties can be added.

Salvador Dali is quoted as saying, “Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.” I took exception to this statement, I suppose because I was focusing on defending perfectionism instead of having no fear. The point is, don’t not engage because it won’t be perfect. Ultimately the results will come with time & focused energy combined with intentional actions. Mistakes are part of the creative process, so it’s all good, even with its imperfections, it can be exactly what it needs to be and is continuing to become.

Tonight I’m thankful for the instruction and inspiration of my many Teachers, for creative process, room to grow, time to learn and for space to explore.

What are you Thankful for?