Posted by Anon. on November 25, 2002 at 10:38:16:
In Reply to: Re: Levels of Playing posted by Open up on November 24, 2002 at 00:15:46:
I have to agree with the comment of not worrying about the other players. Jeff Anderson was a fine player as an undergrad at IU, but was not considered the best player there. He continued to work his butt off, and is now playing in the San Francisco Symphony. Focus on your playing, and strive to be the best player you can be.
An analogy I like to use is comparing music to golf. Tiger Woods doesen't worry about beating the other golfers, just playing the golf coarse as well as it can be played. The more successful he is at that, the more tournements he wins. The rest of the players on tour seem to be focused on being better than Tiger, with less satisfactory results.
Approach every piece you play from the standpoint of playing it as well as it can be played by the greatest player you can imagine. The closer you get to that ideal, the better, and then the others will be chasing you. Good luck!