How to be a Musical Precog

Sci-fi author Philip Dick often features 'precog' characters who predict the future. Pre-fash consultants in The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch see upcoming fashion and decorating trends. In The Minority Report, precogs help apprehend criminals just before they commit their dirty deeds. 

"I have seen the future... it is a C7alt | Fmaj/min."

Precogs exist in real life too. Wayne Gretsky was a hockey precog, able to pass the puck to an empty spot where a teammate would be by the time the puck arrived. And of course we've all sat next to a musical precog. They can sight read anything without breaking a sweat. Their mistakes are few and subtle. It's like they can see the future of the music in just enough time to pull it off. The rest of us flop from one surprise to the next like fish out of water. Too bad for the rest of us that we weren't born with this precious psychic gift! All we can do is watch with awe and envy.

But what if it's not an inborn ability at all? What if musical precogs are good at a few critical skills that others overlook? What if those skills aren't any more difficult to master? Magicians and illusionists are notoriously guarded about divulging their secrets, but there's good news for musicians. You too can be a musical precog! It's a three step process, and you can get started right now. 

Step One: Chunking

Everything's better chunky!

Most of us have pretty average working memories that can hold no more than seven items at a time. You probably can't improve its size, but you can improve its efficiency by chunking. World-class memory champions like Josh Foer (author of Moonwalking with Einstein) get around this built-in limitation. Just use clever, highly personalized system to chunk larger pieces of information together. As musicians, we already have many chunks pre-made for us. We just have to recognize and practice them. Here they are:

• • Scales and arpeggios in every variety, key, and mode.
  • Use publications like this, this, this, this, and this to start chunking everything from common rhythmic patterns, harmonic progressions, and stylistic interpretation. 

When you can chunk a lot of what you're playing, cognitive load lessens. You can pay more attention to reading ahead (e.g., expanding eye-hand span) and improving ensemble playing. 

Step Two: Manage Your Reactions

Disasters don't happen when you make a mistake. They happen when you make a mistake and get upset. That leads to more mistakes, which makes you more upset, etc. This vicious circle is described by Simon Ramo in Extraordinary Tennis for the Ordinary Player as the 'botch' and 'son-of-botch'. The latter is by far more dangerous. Josh Waitzkin describes it in The Art of Learning as applied to martial arts and chess. Music is no different! 

...to getting all the notes.

For amateur musicians, the 'botch' is usually trying to get all the notes instead of keeping to the tempo. No amount of chunking can make up for this. Dwelling on missed notes will vaporize any cognitive surplus. You're now a prime target for the 'son-of botch' that comes from feeling pressured, rushed, and jittery. Unless you can quickly snap out it, your mistakes will escalate out of control. Better to avoid it altogether, especially when sight-reading. Gauge your playing instead by how well you keep the tempo and rhythm coordinated to the rest of the ensemble. You don't have a second chance to play a missed note, and trying will only cause problems for everyone.

Step Three: Pre-Flight Checklist

See my previous post on this topic. The pre-flight checklist gives you an added advantage when you can anticipate problem spots. 'Nuff said.