The 10,000 hour rule is an idea promoted by Malcolm Gladwell in his book, Outliers. In simplistic terms it means that if anyone does enough practice they will become an expert. In his book he states “ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness”. It‘s a great sound bite, but is it right?
There is a complex combination of environmental factors, genetic factors and how they interact which make a mockery of this provocative generalisation.
It’s not right and we can debunk it several ways. Imagine practicing something the wrong way for 10,000 hours, you certainly wouldn't get better. You might end up getting tendonitis, or focal dystonia - damaging your ability to play the piano. You certainly would have wasted a lot of time, likely lost motivation and maybe even considered giving up playing all together.
Secondly, we must also understand that nurture doesn't always make up for nature. There is a complex combination of environmental factors, genetic factors and how they interact which make a mockery of this provocative generalisation.
Why a good teacher is important
Certainly the more we practice something, the better we can get. Practice makes perfect as the saying goes - however it is important to make sure you are practicing in the right way. Active listening, focused concentration and making sure we use the whole body in coordination (not just the ends of our fingers) as we play. In short we need to practice how to practice.
Anders Ericsson in his paper for the Psychological Review makes the point that “not every type of practice leads to improved ability. You don’t get benefits from mechanical repetition, but by adjusting your execution over and over to get closer to your goal.”
On our own we can be an excellent teacher, but an external set of ears and eyes from an expert mentor can make sure you stay the right path. Without skilled feedback, you are far less likely to succeed and will certainly waste time unnecessarily. Finding the right teacher and the quality of your practice matter more - not just the amount of time you spend sat at the piano. spend doing it.
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