Dr. Molly Gebrian touched on a concept called "the illusion of mastery" in her Rethinking Genius interview. Basically, it's what psychologists call it when you do something over and over again, giving yourself a false sense of mastery.
Wait... if you do something over and over again, shouldn't it be mastered?
Well, not always.
The true test of mastery is internalization. If you're still having to follow the directions for how to make chicken, you haven't mastered chicken cooking. Mastery means that you've cooked chicken so many times you're no longer worried about the basics. It also means that you are confident enough in those basics that you are able to add extra elements with some degree of certainty. For example, you know how the chicken should be cooked even after adding a sauce or extra seasoning.
In other words: you can complete the task under pressure.
The physical and psychological leap from the practice room to the stage is the biggest hurdle that any musician faces. Hours and hours of practice seemingly fly out the window when someone is watching and this leads to frustration. How is it that you could play something so perfectly in the privacy of your own home only to falter in the performance?
The key to answering this question is that you are playing the piece in your own home. In that particular setting--when you have the cookbook in front of you for guidance--you were able to cook the chicken perfectly. This is the illusion of mastery. You mastered the task in the more relaxed setting and this leads to the false sense of security.
Unfortunately the only true way to get used to performing is to actually perform (shocking, I know). But other techniques may be applied to help ease the transition from practice to performance (see Dr. Gebrian's interview for ideas). The point being made here is that you must first be aware of this issue and knowing is half the battle.
Wait... if you do something over and over again, shouldn't it be mastered?
Well, not always.
The true test of mastery is internalization. If you're still having to follow the directions for how to make chicken, you haven't mastered chicken cooking. Mastery means that you've cooked chicken so many times you're no longer worried about the basics. It also means that you are confident enough in those basics that you are able to add extra elements with some degree of certainty. For example, you know how the chicken should be cooked even after adding a sauce or extra seasoning.
In other words: you can complete the task under pressure.
The physical and psychological leap from the practice room to the stage is the biggest hurdle that any musician faces. Hours and hours of practice seemingly fly out the window when someone is watching and this leads to frustration. How is it that you could play something so perfectly in the privacy of your own home only to falter in the performance?
The key to answering this question is that you are playing the piece in your own home. In that particular setting--when you have the cookbook in front of you for guidance--you were able to cook the chicken perfectly. This is the illusion of mastery. You mastered the task in the more relaxed setting and this leads to the false sense of security.
Unfortunately the only true way to get used to performing is to actually perform (shocking, I know). But other techniques may be applied to help ease the transition from practice to performance (see Dr. Gebrian's interview for ideas). The point being made here is that you must first be aware of this issue and knowing is half the battle.
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