In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell refers to the “10,000 hour rule”, claiming that the key to achieving expertise in any skill is to practise for around 10,000 hours.
I reckon I’ve done my 10,000 hours over the last 30 years of teaching songs and leading choirs. Yet I still can’t pull it out of the hat without preparation.
Although the 10,000 hour rule has often been questioned, it’s certainly true that you need to put the work in to become good at something.
Over the years I’ve become a much better teacher, but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped learning or can rest on my laurels.
When I was younger, I believed that one day I would “arrive”. I imagined I’d be able to stand in front of any group, improvise a warm up and teach any of the 1,000 songs I’ve taught over the years.
Maybe I’d even get to the point where I could use a single tuning fork and work out the starting note of any song. Or perhaps I’d develop perfect pitch and not even need one. Then I’d know I’d truly “arrived”.
Maybe some song leaders can work like that, but I’ve come to realise that it’s not how I work.
I still plan and structure every warm up in detail, write it down, and refer to it during the session. I still need to know which songs I’m teaching, what the starting note are, and have sheet music to hand to jog my memory.
And that’s fine.
We all work in different ways, and I’ve finally figured out what works best for me.
No matter how many hours you've put in, you still need to find your own way of working. Don't compare yourself with other people. Find what works for you.
You might find this older post of interest: Plans are worthless, but planning is everything
Chris Rowbury
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