play the impossible

​I used to play in and do some conducting for the Intermission Orchestra at UCSD, a student-run and led orchestra that plays video game and anime music.  While there, I heard and saw people play things that they didn’t know was supposed to be difficult on their instruments (the clarinets only played on Bb clarinets!).   They just did it, comparing what was coming out of their instruments with they music they had grown up with. I learned to spend less time thinking about how hard something was and instead remember to think about what I could do to improve it, allowing my ear rather than my expectations and understanding of the instrument to lead my practice and performance.  You just might play the impossible.