The Japanese philosophy that can help you in the practice room
This past summer, I visited Asia for the first time. I am still absorbing all of the amazing musical, cultural, and life experiences I had during this tour.
During my time in Japan, I learned about the Japanese philosophy called kaizen, which means continuous improvement or small changes for the better. This can be applied to business, society, or individual changes, and kaizen philosophy maintains that nothing should be static. One should always focus on small, consistent steps which can lead to gradual improvement.
“The message of the Kaizen strategy is that not a day should go by without some kind of improvement being made somewhere in the company.”
— Masaaki Imai
Of course, my mind immediately jumped to the practice room. I regularly tell my students to try to do one thing one percent better every time they practice, which will lead to long-term improvement.
The concept of kaizen strongly resonated with me, and here’s how I use this in the practice room:
It’s important to have goals (both short to long term), and by breaking these down into clear, actionable steps, so you have a path towards achieving these. Kaizen is an excellent reminder that achieving goals or improving takes consistent, small steps in the search for improvement.
It’s easy to get impatient or expect instant results in the practice room. Whenever this happens to me, I remind myself that lasting results take time, and I revisit the concept of kaizen. When I’m looking for instant gratification, I try to take a step back and ask myself “Have I made a small improvement today during my practice?” Maybe you didn’t reach your goal tempo in a tricky technical passage, but even if you moved one click faster, that’s still a step in the right direction.
Kaizen is a reminder to focus on small, manageable improvements instead of hoping for quantum leaps which probably will not last.
So, I encourage you to explore the concept of kaizen and see if it resonates with you the way it did with me. It’s helped me to approach practicing in a more methodical and patient way, which has given my practice routine fresh life.