The Problem With Perfection

A few years ago, my guitar teacher spent a lesson laying down the importance of practising to be perfect. He said, and I quote “the reason that you have to practise every day, is so that the information becomes so engraved in you, so you never make a mistake”.

I found the last part of what he said to be the most interesting - “so you never make a mistake”. It seemed like the words literally jumped out of his mouth and punched me in the face.

Perfection isn’t something new in our world, and for as long as humanity has existed, everywhere we look, perfection is thrown in our faces. Companies are always looking to convince consumers that their product is “perfect” for them. In our relationships, we are always looking to plan the “perfect date”, and even in our day to day routines, we are constantly searching for the “perfect day”.

As musicians, we are incessantly and obsessively looking to write the “perfect song”, to perform the “perfect concert”, to make the “perfect recording” and of course, “practise perfectly”.

Music teachers often give their students specific exercises and etudes so that they learn to play with the “perfect technique” and give the “perfect performance” at the next recital.

But have you ever asked yourself what exactly does it mean to be perfect? What exactly does it mean to play “perfectly?

The striving for perfection, especially for young musicians, can be a seriously toxic journey.

For story-telling sake, it can be quite inspiring and captivating to hear that someone like Charlie Parker, John Coltrane or Tommy Emmanuel practised obsessively to be “perfect” and it’s the reason as to why they are legends of music.  

What you don’t see or hear about is the anxiety, the depression, the stress, and painful toll striving for that perfection can put on a person. It’s what tears a musician’s family apart because they’re never present with their kids. It’s what drives to take drugs and alcohol because a musician can only sustain that level of perfection through external means. It what forces a young musician who has all the talent and skill in the world to quit music before they turn 25 because they’ve lost their passion for music and can’t bear to even look at their instrument.

The great jazz pianist Herbie Hancock once said, “there is no such thing as wrong notes”. This was a lesson that he learnt from Miles Davis, the legendary trumpet player when during a performance early in this career, Herbie played a chord that was “wrong”. In the moment, he recounts the panic he experienced, as he felt he had just destroyed the entire performance. However, within a split second. Miles came in and corrected his “mistake”, by playing a line that validated the “wrong” chord he played.

What you can take away from this story is that music can be seen as a reflection of life itself. Think of the number of mistakes that you make every single day. Small mistakes could be as simple as forgetting to buy groceries or doing your chores, whilst big mistakes could be forgetting to pay your tax or forgetting your girlfriend’s birthday! 

In real life, if you dwell on mistakes no matter how big or small they are, you fail to move on with your life and get better as a person. There is always a lesson to be learnt in every mistake you make no matter how big or small.

In Herbie’s case, he learnt that by just changing a couple of notes, he could turn a “wrong” chord into a “right chord”, and ultimately the “wrong chord” becomes an integral part of the performance. In the jazz world, these “wrong chords” are often referred to as “tension chords” and we know without tension, music can be pretty damn boring!

Not only did this change the way that Herbie viewed music, but it changed the way that he viewed life. Herbie was only 23 at the time, and if you read a little bit about his life story, you’ll find out that that mistake he made that day was far from his last. In fact, every other mistake he’s made in his life makes playing a “wrong chord” look futile.

Miles could’ve easily fired Herbie in an instant. There have been plenty of cases in music where people have been shown the door very early on because they’ve made a few mistakes. Just imagine if that had happened. Today, Herbie Hancock may not be a household name in the jazz world, and in another timeline, he may have quit music all together!

 In my experience, the obsession over becoming the “perfect jazz musician” was what drove me to give up my degree at the Conservatorium of Music. On several occasions, I witnessed my fellow classmates crumble under the intense pressure that was placed upon them, because they were so fearful of that prospect of having abuse hurled at them from a teacher if they made a mistake. During one lecture, one of my classmates was told to “not even bother coming back” because their arrangement of a piece wasn’t “perfect enough”.

I want to point out that this doesn’t mean we should start lowering our standards and letting mistakes fly out like hotcakes. High standards, discipline and commitment are what it takes to be a professional musician or at least a very good musician at all levels.

But if we look at the root of perfection and why it exists in the first place, perfection is predominantly influenced by external validation. Growing up in Sydney, Australia, many of my school friends played music and took the AMEB exam courses which ran from grade 1-8. Many of them completed the entire course and received Diploma certificates as recognition for their achievement. However, once they completed the courses, they quit music almost entirely and these days they rarely play their instruments.

The reason – their musical journeys were purely academic, and they never got to learn music for the love of it. Once the certificate was gained, they lost any motivation to continue. One of my friends lamented the pressure that was placed on them by their parents, and it caused them to feel that “If I get that certificate, I’ll be good enough and be praised”.

Whilst most of my friends developed the “perfect technique” according to the Exam board standards, they rarely took risks with their music, and never learnt the ability to improvise or write music.

They’d even tell me of how they’d break down or have panic attacks before their recitals because they were so scared of failing the exam.

For something that is so heavily subjective, the search for musical perfection is not only an illusion that can never truly be met, but it can also be seriously damaging for a musician’s motivation, psychology, and mental health. It’s this obsession and neurotic focus on perfection that I strongly believe needs to be re-defined and removed entirely.

 We’ve all been told by our music teachers and parents to always “strive for perfection” in my musical journeys but what if we started telling musicians to “strive for excellence” instead?

The beauty about striving for excellence is that it doesn’t sacrifice any moral high ground or diminishing of high standards. The difference with excellence, however, is that it allows mistakes to be made, and ultimately it leaves room for improvement.

On a more spiritual level, excellence means that you never reach an “end goal” and it’ll inspire you to continue looking for new ways to become better as a musician whether that is by looking to learn a new instrument, a different style, or write more complex music.

Music is often viewed as a metaphor for life, and in real life, every day will throw up different challenges and obstacles. On some days, everything will just fall into a place and be smooth sailing, whilst other days will feel like you’re climbing Mount Everest.

As Tommy Emmanuel once said “Sometimes we wake up feeling like a guitar master, sometimes we wake up feeling like a fool. But that’s the fun part of learning guitar”.

In a strange way, it’s these challenges, imperfections and flaws that make striving for excellence the perfect way to learn music, because when you strive for excellence, the journey becomes the focus, not the outcome, and the mistakes don’t define us as human beings. Those mistakes give you a reason to keep going and become a little bit better every day, and be proud that you gave it our all, even if the end result doesn’t exactly go your way.

Striving for excellence reminds you that your musical journey reflects your own personal experience and your desire to share those stories with others. Excellence ensures that you do your absolute best to tell your story in the most coherent and impactful way possible, but not because you’re trying to impress some college professor or a fellow musician.

In other words, striving for excellence allows you to be human.

Whenever my students get upset about not being able to play “perfectly”, I often tell them this – “Just because you play a song perfectly, does not make you a great guitarist, nor does making a mistake make you a bad guitarist. It’s how you keep going, how you improve, and your love for music that makes you a great guitarist”.

I’m certain that 95% of people who want to learn a musical instrument in this world want to do it simply because they love music. I’m even more certain that every musician on this planet no matter what level or age hopes to be able to play music for as long as they live.

We have to remember that music isn’t a matter of life or death. It wasn’t created to cause stress, anguish, and make people feel worthless. Music is a gift to the world we live in, and as musicians and music teachers, we must remember that every time we step into the classroom or on stage.

Isn’t that what is really music is all about?