Practice Makes Perfect, More Than a Cliché by Raven

Practice Makes Perfect, More Than a Cliché by Raven - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

“It is one thing to know in theory, and another to apply in practice.” –Lemony Snicket

Sixth grade is when I first touched a trombone. The eighth grader who presented the trombone to my beginning band sixth period class ended the presentation stating, “This is the loudest instrument”, so I picked it. Four years later I made fifth chair in the All-County band, the first student to do so at my high school in several years. I have since made four All-County ensembles, two All-County jazz ensembles, and second chair in the Ruth Eckerd Hall Big Band. I have traveled to California, New York, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina on college band trips. I could attribute my accomplishments to immense practicing, several hours a week on top of tennis practice and chores. But I cannot, because on the three year hiatus I spent forging the signature on my practice log, there was one man who repeated the same speech every band class. But I am thankful that he did, because without the cliché “practice makes perfect” speech my middle school band director Mr. Touchton gave me, I would not have experienced the adventures I have today.
The most important lesson Mr. Touchton, or commonly known as Mr. T, taught me was the importance of practice. Familiar with the term due to several years of after-school tennis, I thought practicing my trombone would be fun. It was not, and after two months it took every nerve in my body to take the trombone out the case. Mr. T was a genius for requiring a signed practice log each week that our parent/guardian had to sign. A minimum of three days out of seven we were required to practice. Not turning in two practice logs would result in a detention, which was forbidden in my household. So I had to practice.
Mr. T instilled in his students that without practice you cannot get better, at anything in life. He drilled the importance of rehearsal and repetition. There were after-school rehearsals for each individual instrument section. He would have us play one measure ten times until we were comfortable playing it without looking at the music. Mr. T repeated the 10,000 Hour Rule to help his students understand the importance of practice if they wanted to be great at their instrument. Once I began taking my practice seriously, I noticed various aspects of my life improving beyond my musical ability. I struggled in math for the entirety of elementary school. But as I started studying my music through my practice, my math grades improved. I started finding math exciting, drawing parallels with music such as meter and time.
While frustrating in middle school, I am grateful Mr. T taught me the importance of practice. I have been successful in applying this simple aspect of musicianship to every aspect of my life. Although I do not play as diligently as I did in high school, I still maintain my skill through practicing a few hours a week. I play in my church orchestra and my university’s marching and pep bands. Mr. T taught me the most important lesson there is to learn as a musician and in life, and that is the importance of practice.