Perfectionism and Music

What does perfect mean? Let’s ask the Greeks…

I was thinking about perfectionism the other day, and remembered that the word "perfect" originally comes from the Greek term "teleos," which means "complete."

In fact, the infinitive form of the verb is translated as "to reach a distant end, to be fully developed, to consummate, or to finish."

So the original Greek term is not about being free from error. It's about achieving a distant objective.

How can that help us as we work towards musical goals? If we can switch our focus from the English meaning to the Greek meaning, it might make our journey less arduous. I would go so far as to say that thinking of perfection as the absence of errors is a mind trap--it's almost impossible, and the attempt rarely ends well.

It seems much healthier to me to think of the search for perfection as the attempt to be more developed or complete. This is the kind of mindset that will help us prepare and perform our best auditions.

The musical life is a long game, and we'll be a lot happier (and play better) if we set ourselves up to enjoy the journey.

If it would help you to chat about this, let’s talk! Click to view my schedule.

Happy practicing,

Mick @ The Viola Pro