Sunday, October 23, 2022

Prediction is hard, especially of the future

There isn’t a strong correlation between how I feel ahead of a concert and how well it goes. Observing this is liberating. I can let myself experience whatever mood I’m experiencing without going into second-order mind games worrying about how it might affect my performance.

Arriving in a new town, entering an unfamiliar venue, working an unknown piano, embarking on a first-time collaboration, and playing to a novel audience all make for an adventure impossible to anticipate. Something like a skier encountering a race course, maybe. You can train, hone your skills, but you can’t know what the course will be like until you run it. So no point in trying!

One thing that’s pretty determinative, though, is how well-rested I am the day or two going into a concert.

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