YOUTH WORSHIP TEAM
THE REALITY OF BECOMING A MASTER | Vance & Michelle Shepherd
Do you want to become a master musician or vocalist ? Maybe you have someone you aspire to be like , and you want to operate on their same level . Once you figure out what you want to master , it ’ s time to develop a game plan strategy to achieve it . It ’ s really about setting concrete goals and working toward those goals in some way every day : small blocks of concentrated time that create what we call the “ compound effect ”. And doing this will more than likely have you continuing to be goal minded and time-aware for the rest of your life . Achievement in anything always begins with a set goal .
“ Most people do not plan to fail , they fail to plan .” – John Beckley
Such a great quote ! And so true ! One of the first questions we get asked by our new students is “ How long is it gonna take to get good ? Well , that depends on what you define as “ good ”. We all mean something different when we ask that . But for this article , let ’ s focus on what it takes to become a master .
In 1987 , K . Anders Ericsson went to Berlin for two years to research the achievement of violinists . He wanted to study the standard of graduation performance with the number of hours practiced . The violinists were placed in the following categories : world-class , very good , competent , and amateur . All of the violinists in the study began learning around the age of five and practiced about the same amount of time in the first three years .
But after that , their practice time changed dramatically from student to student , and the results were amazing . The violinists who were considered “ world-class ” had practiced for at least ten thousand hours … whew … that ’ s a lot of hours ! Excellent violinists practiced about eight thousand hours , competent violinists studied about five thousand hours , and good amateurs practiced approximately two thousand hours .
The relationship between skill level and hours practiced was predictive , and what ’ s known as the “ ten-thousand-hour rule ” was born . Ericsson also found that the best musicians did a certain kind of focused practice , which he calls deliberate practice , which is the type of practice that is not really enjoyable , but is measured by the progress the student makes , which then makes the end of the effort very rewarding .
Excelling in any skill requires both short- and long-term goal setting . These days , video games and social media are both just epic time wasters ! Anywhere from 2-5 hours per day is a typical amount of time a student spends scrolling through TikTok and playing games . Wow ! It ’ s wise for us to take inventory of the time we have in every day , and where and how we spend that time . There ’ s an old saying , “ Life is too short to do what I have to do ; it ’ s barely long enough to do what I want to do ”.
So think about your personal goals and desires . Ask yourself , “ Is this something I really want to do ? Will I enjoy doing it ?” Don ’ t do something because other people want you to do it , as this just leads to burn out and frustration . Especially for young people and students : it ’ s easy to say ‘ yes ’ just to please parents , teachers and friends . But stay true to what you desire to do , and the goals you personally want to achieve .
We ’ ve seen this over and over again : if a student loves what they ’ re studying , they will spend extra time and will be self-motivated and goal achieving . If a student is only doing something to please other people , there will be
a lack of progress , and no real joy in the hours of preparation and practice . And many times , there ’ s even depression and anxiety .
We have 8,760 hours in a year ( to be exact ), so let ’ s use all of those doing something we ’ re passionate about ! And by spending ten thousand hours of practice doing what you already love doing , you will become a world class master ! And you will be an incredible inspiration for so many people along the way . We should all consider setting aside time in every day to sharpen our skills for the glory of God , so we can do the amazing ministry that He has made us for .
May you be blessed as you pour into or become the next generation of worship leaders and musicians !
Vance & Michelle Shepherd Founders of The Shepherd School of Music in Las Vegas , NV , where they work with youth to raise up the next generation of worship leaders and musicians . facebook . com / shepherdschoolofmusiclasvegas www . ShepherdStudiosLV . com
46 April 2024 Subscribe for Free ...