Cheetahs are really fast.  They are purportedly the fastest animal on the earth, running faster than 100 MPH.  They are sleek and optimized to go fast.  They are amazing to watch.

However, with great speed come great speed bumps!  Cheetahs actually catch less than half of what they hunt because they are too fast!  Since hunted things are motivated to get out of the way – they do! And worse, even if the cheetah does catch what they’re aiming for, they are often so spent that other, slower but stronger players often swoop in and steal the cheetah’s meal.  And the cheetah couldn’t do much about it even if they weren’t exhausted because, while they’re fast, they don’t have sharp claws and they’re relatively weak.  Yikes.

You might wonder why we are on this gentle (ha!) walk through the Wild Kingdom?  Because we can learn a lot from the cheetah.

To be successful hunters (and to have well fed bellies) cheetahs actually depend more on agility than they do on their speed.  Stated baldly, a successful cheetah relies on great technique NOT speed.

They use that technique – even though they could rely on their speed – because even the cheetah knows that speed doesn’t lead to success – great technique does!

Further, the cheetah – and the smart harper – knows that carefully honing one’s technique will lay the groundwork for all the speed to be used masterfully rather than letting speed run the show.

The cheetah is a rare creature, beautiful to behold.  Harpers are like that too.

Unlike the cheetah, who uses technique for hunting but doesn’t have a lot of tasks, we harpers need to develop a wide range of skills to perform all the tasks of playing our instruments and our music.  The development of these techniques requires time and attention and practice which can be time consuming (and sometimes can be a little dispiriting).

Speed, on the other hand, is seductive.  It whispers in your ear

“we could go even faster…if you’d just sacrifice a few, teensy-weensy details…like fingering, placing, tone, articulation, dynamics, posture, and planning. Whadaya say?”

And it’s very easy to fall prey to that silver tongued devil.  Here in the secret privacy of our own private practice spaces – we can succumb and go faster – faster – faster.  So what if we missed a note?  So what if we dropped part of the phrase?  Did we already play the repeat?  Is that actually how it goes?  It sounds perfect with no left hand, right?  There was no gap while I tried to remember what came next, right?   So what if it wasn’t completely smooth?

But eventually comes the time when we venture out and prepare to play – for a lesson or in front of others – and then the scales fall from our eyes as we learn that our sacrifices for speed have resulted in a haphazard, poorly played tune.  And we feel it keenly. *

So, don’t be fast like the hungry cheetah.  Rather, be precise and agile like the fed cheetah.  Focus on tamping down your speed to instead let your technique take over.  Ignore the seductive voice urging you play faster and instead heed the call to the dulcet tones of articulated, tempered, dynamic music.  Be all the best qualities of the cheetah – without the spots!

* Don’t ask me how I know this.