PIP PIP Hooray! A Journey Concerning Peeks Into Practice
What is a PIP?
A PIP or “Peek Into Practice” is a short clip that shows something that I’m working on in the practice room. PIPs can cover a variety of topics, ranging from technical challenges to mental strategies. All in all, a PIP is a small window into what I’m working on and how I do it!
I feel like everyone is afraid of having their music heard by others at some point in their lives. As I was trying to figure out what to share on my Instagram, this became an issue for me. I was anxious to have my playing out in the world. I hadn’t shared before and was unsure about how to get my work out there. I spent lots of time thinking about approaches or ways to organize what I was going to share and how, and that’s when I came up with the idea of snippets of what I was working on. I call these “Peeks Into Practice“ or “PIPs,” small glimpses into what I’m learning. I thought that with this approach, I could share a wide range of things and allow myself the grace of progress as these were check-ins, not finished projects.
With this more relaxed perspective, I was able to share my first few PIPs. In the first one, I shared some posture work. In the next, I shared a small excerpt of a Bordogni I’d been using to practice reducing analyzing while performing. These little windows into my sessions allowed me to share the things I normally wouldn’t have felt able to. The PIPs provided a framework to cling to and this speaks to my need for structure to feel supported in my tasks. For me, it’s important to know how I work my best so that I can create an environment to cultivate my best work.
Throughout my life, I have noticed a need for structure—almost always. When I was home for the summer in elementary school with no classes to go to at a marked time, I felt listless and unstable. So, I would plan out my day and build myself a schedule. I have learned over many years that structure is very important to me. I don’t believe that structure is what makes everybody feel good, but finding what gives you stability is worth searching for. As I entered into this new stage in my life where I’m building my career and putting myself out into the world, I knew I needed stability, so I looked for it. PIPs came about as I was trying to find a process to help me feel balanced and able to succeed and they’ve helped so much! I have videos out now that show my playing and videos that share vulnerable thoughts and processes. I sought out structure to support me and it worked. As with anything in life, however, it’s not perfect. I still feel nervous about sharing my playing and about being vulnerable. It’s a small step forward for me to share what I have and to continue doing so—but it’s a step!
It feels scary to put yourself out there and to do so with vulnerability. PIPs are a way for me to share bits of my sessions but also bits of myself. Since they can range from a polished recording all the way to talking about my tendency to over analyze, there’s a lot that can be shared. At first, these clips were a way to help me structure how I showed my playing to the world, but I think as the series continues, it will also serve as a way to show myself to the world. A video about posture is educational and shares something I’m learning. A video about a method I’ve developed to help me make music and not analyze shows a bit more of my internal thoughts and struggles. But a video about self-talk in practice? A video about nerves and performance? I think that’s where the most impactful work will be done. So much of what I hope to accomplish is sharing my honest thoughts and discoveries with my others but also showing that we often face the same struggles. We all get nervous to play in some way because we care. We all worry about what people think of us in some way because we care. I came up with PIPs to help me get myself out there with structure and support, but going forward, I hope they help me to stay out there.