Annika-Coyle-Chapters3&4

Chapter 3

Summary: In this chapter, entitled “The Brontes, the Z-Boys, and the Renaissance,” Coyle continues his argument that talent is grown in the actions that we take. He repeats “skill is insulation that wraps neural circuits and grows according to certain signals.” When someone repeats an action over and over again, myelin grows around those neural circuits, essentially cementing the action into this biology. These cemented actions can be expanded upon, creating and honing new skills and talents. The talents that the Brontes, the Z-Boys, and many others possess are a product of hours, days, months, years of practice and myelin creation. They were not born with their talents, but they grew them by repeating the right actions.

Application: Practicing music can often feel incredibly frustrating as sometimes I feel as though I am not at the level I should be at and I can compare myself to others who are at a different level than I am. It is important for me to remember, not only for myself, but also for my students, that the amount of practice and the kind of practice has an impact on others' talent. Someone’s talent may be at a different level than my own because they have honed their craft for longer or learned their craft in a way that perfectly suits them so that their myelin can grow. 

Chapter 4

Summary: In Chapter 4, entitled “The Three Rules of Deep Practice,” Coyle emphasizes the best way to practice, using what he encountered in the talent hotbeds he visited and observed. The three rules he lists out are “chunk it up,” “repeat it,” and “learn to feel it.” Coyle uses examples of some of the most successful and talented tennis players, volleyball players, and musicians and their practice strategies and techniques. 

Application: Throughout this chapter, I contemplated my piano practice. Piano is an instrument I struggle with often. I thought about my own practice--do I take the piece measure by measure? Note by note? Or do I just haphazardly try to play the entire piece, brushing off mess-ups. In my piano practice, I take pieces hand by hand, measure by measure. I make sure I can play a whole piece correctly all the way through before I put my hands together. I try to repeat a piece ten times in a row correctly once I have it down before I can say I have it down. As the practice goes on, I practice more based on the feeling in my hands and my ears than on the notes on the page.