About how long does it take "to do the impossible?"

[Bob]

You get a piece of music of something.  It's really not possible to do it then, but you can do it later. 

How long does that take?

I'm thinking... Maybe three months?  Within six months you get that kind of effect or should be seeing some results.  If stuff isn't happening in six months, you can pretty much assume what you're doing isn't working.


Agree/disagree?  Other thoughts?

[cwjalex]

depends on the person.  depends on the difficulty of the piece.  is the person a beginner?  is he a veteran player?  does he have little time?  does he have a lot of time?  is the piece anywhere near doable?  does the person have a learning disability?  does this person take lessons?  does this person intend to take lessons?  how hard is this person trying?  how much is this person currently practicing?  how much does he intend to practice? how well does this person want to be able to play this piece? what do you consider results? 

a different answer to any of these questions can lead to a different outcome.  expecting results in 3-6 months is hard to answer without at least a basic idea of the framework of the situation. 

[diomedes]

cwjalex kind of addressed it, too many questions. Maybe you can clarify. Your type of question is one i typically find interest in, doing something very challenging and the factors available to deal with it (the main one being determination).

[j_menz]

I'm thinking... Maybe three months? 

I'm thinking if you can take six years to start developing the routine needed to accomplish it, three months might be a little optimistic. 

[Bob]

Hm...  I've been doing the routine for... maybe 15 years now...   Six years to develop?   ...That actually may be scarily accurate.  *Bob considers this more proof that j_menz is his future self.*  We both know then that it didn't take six years to actually come up with the first routine.  That was a day or so and then it evolved.

I wouldn't criticize it too much then j_menz.  That's where your technique is coming from.




There is no specific example for this.  I was thinking with music, like a piece of music, but it could be anything.  Essentially... How long does it take for you -- physically, mentally -- to adjust so your performance is on the next level up?  I'm thinking, it's your brain rewiring itself and the body adjusting, along with the mental connections being in place to control those new muscles/movements.   That kind of development is where you can't actually do something but after x-time you can.  I wonder what that x-time amount is.  Minimum a month I would think.  More like 3-4.  Should see something in six months or you're doing something wrong.

Kids are doing that.  Under guidance of a teacher and along well-worn paths for practicing music.  I was thinking though if you set a goal, any goal, and start putting in thoughtful, demanding practice, you should start achieving something in that direction in at least six months.  Something you can kind of plan on, plot out... Right now, I'm at this point, but in six months, I should be a little further ahead, solid progress in a direction.

[cwjalex]

if the "impossible" task is something that requires a big change in your life or routine then it may truly be impossible.  people really don't change.  it may happen in one in a billion but people are who they are.

[Bob]

"Normally impossible" then I guess.  Something people can do if they work on it enough.  But right now, they really can't.  After some sustained effort, they can.


Although I suppose there could be some tricky there.... Only appearing to do the impossible later....