In a well known statement, Leon Fleisher said that musicians are the athletes of the small muscles. He’s probably right – after all, we all get blisters. We sometimes overdo it and are sore for longer than we think we should be. We have pros, full time enthusiasts, and weekend warriors.
But, maybe Leon got it backwards because it feels more accurate to say that athletes are the musicians of the large muscles!
Because it’s not just about moving the muscles around (regardless of their size) but about keeping a rhythm, breathing, following the phrasing of the overall piece (or shot), holding it together when something unexpected happens, reframing your approach as needed in a dynamic environment, knowing your place on the court, working together as a team, knowing yourself and your capabilities and working where you are when performing, and practicing to both maintain yourself and also to push those capabilities farther. And the importance of paying attention to your body as you move through the activity.
It also means taking care of your body so it can move. And it means taking care of your mind so you can engage fully and play to the best of your ability every time. But mostly it means knowing yourself and where you’re going so you get there (wherever “there” happens to be – you get to decide).
And perhaps most of all, it means being consistent so that you don’t lose ground. And possibly more importantly, so you don’t lose sight of your target and the path you’re following. It’s easy enough to wander off.
Because they move more, there is plenty of attention paid to the foibles of being a large muscle musician. They share our concerns and this week I hope you have the opportunity to play a little like the small muscle athlete you are!