Recently a friend discussed a frustration he was experiencing. While practicing guitar, he noticed an error in his playing so he repeats the exercise over and over again to improve the error. But by the end of his practice, he notices that what seemed wrong at first, what was obviously an error now seems normal or ‘correct’. It’s only after listening back to a recording the following day does he notice the error again.
At first this sounded similar to ear fatigue, when musicians and especially mix engineers experience a loss of objectivity after listening to a song too many times. They can’t tell what needs to be fixed or they think everything sounds great then after a break they again hear all the stuff that needs to be fixed.
Creatives of all sorts experience this ‘loss of objectivity’, from video editors to writers. I’ve experienced this while writing - in the moment you think what you’ve worked on is great but upon further review at a later date you realize it’s not as good as you initially thought. Often I’ll be excited about something but after that initial excitement wears off, I’m back to square one. This also happened when I was writing and recording songs for a music project. In the moment something sounds great but later it doesn’t sound so good.
Is there a name for this loss of objectivity, or lack thereof?
My friend was certain to make the distinction that this loss of objectivity occurs even when he knows something is bad and over time he starts to think it sounds good, or right. Is this our brain trying to make order out of something?
Looking at this phenomenon another way, my friend said it seems similar to the old saying “You can’t see the forest for the trees.” This proverb, written by 16th century poet and musician John Heywood, has come to mean that if we’re too focused on the details, we can’t grasp the whole picture.
So if you think something sounds good in the moment but then later it sounds bad, that’s a lack of objectivity. And if you think something sounds bad in the moment but later it sounds good, that’s a loss of objectivity. Are both of these instances one and the same? Are they both an example of seeing the trees but not the forest?
Keep in mind here is that my friend is experiencing this while practicing. When we musicians practice, we concentrate on a specific phrase or bar, sometimes slowing it down, counting it out and focusing closely on the note, beat or measure we want to improve.
When I practice drums, I’m practicing the phrase I want to improve on - I already know I’m playing it wrong. So I repeat it over and over again, breaking it down, and (hopefully) slowly improving it. After practicing something for a focused period of time I usually hit a point of diminishing returns, when I’m no longer making any progress and need to take a break. It’s at this point that things start to get fuzzy - call it ear fatigue, or perception bias, or something else - and I can’t clearly see or hear what I’m playing wrong. Recording yourself practicing can be incredibly helpful so you can listen back with fresh ears and see what still needs improvement.
I find that the best practice happens over time by returning to the exercise over and over until I’ve mastered it and has become a part of my playing. Practice makes perfect, but you have to practice the perfected until it becomes part of your vocabulary.
Why is this interesting? This is something we all experience no matter our pursuits, jobs or hobbies, but it especially affects creativity and the creative mind.
Here’s eight bullets to help you stay objective:
Take breaks. Set a timer write or practice for 20 minutes or an hour and take a break. Some writers prefer the Pomodoro Technique - 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off, and so on.
Be aware of the point of diminishing returns. Even if you’re taking breaks you might get to a point where all objectivity is lost and you need to step away for an extended period of time.
Save your work. Record yourself. Just because the piece you wrote or the song you practiced isn’t perfect doesn’t mean your it’s worthless. We can still learn something from listening back or revising a bad draft. It’s easy to get discouraged when you feel you’re not achieving what you’d hoped but I’m sure you’ll see results if you hang in there.
Reference tracks. Sometimes mix engineers and songwriters have a song in mind to refer to as a guide while crafting a mix or song. We call these reference tracks. Does my vocal sound as big as the one in my reference track? Does my song have the same lo-fi energy as my reference track? We can apply this to writing too. Maybe a piece of Joan Didion’s writing really resonates with you and you want to try to capture some of that energy - not to copy it wholesale but just to get inside the mechanics behind Didion’s words. Hunter S. Thompson re-typed novels he loved by Hemingway, Fitzgerald and others. Studying your favorites and using them as guides may help you maintain perspective on what you hoped to achieve.
Keep a journal or notebook. With almost everything I work I also keep a journal or notebook dedicated to that specific project. This helps me maintain objectivity and perspective short term as well as long term. I’m not taking notes while I’m creating but maybe after a writing session I’ll write a few thoughts in the notebook to refer to later. This helps track my thoughts, feelings, and general headspace while working on a particular project. For my drumming practice, I keep a notebook tracking exercises I’m working on and my progress. Writing about these creative acts helps me stay objective.
Change it up. Maybe you need to change up something in your routine. Practice somewhere new or write at night instead of the morning. Or work on something different. Often I’ll have ideas for previous projects while working on new projects. Also, this may sound odd, but I’ve heard a few successful writers say that taking a shower - sometimes multiple showers in a day - helps them get through writer’s block. Whatever works!
Have someone else take a look. I know I might read something I’ve written dozens of times and never spot a typo that someone else who has never read my piece might instantly catch. If you’re really stumped, have a friend, family member or trusted confidant have a read or listen. Fresh eyes and ears can help you identity what you’re missing.
Let it sit. Sometimes the magic occurs when we let something sit for a period of time. Maybe we sleep on it, or let it sit for a while. When we forget about the thing we were focused on, our subconscious will pick up the task and start putting items into place in a way that we might not have thought to before. Joyce Carol Oats puts her manuscripts in a drawer to sit for sometimes up to a year before deciding whether it’s good enough to publish. The ideas, experiences, and knowledge we pick up along the way might change our relationship to what we’ve written.
For any creative pursuit, there’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ so it can be hard to know if what we’ve made is any good. And then comes the subject of knowing when something is ‘done’, when to publish that piece you’ve written or that song you wrote, but that’s a discussion for another blog post. On the other hand, if you’re practicing a piece of music, something that’s already been created, there may be a ‘right’ and a ‘wrong’ way to play it.
In both areas, creating and practicing we are in danger of experiencing a loss of objectivity or ‘failing to see the forest for the trees.’ Our perspective on the thing which we’re focusing on becomes too narrow, like tunnel vision and we can’t accurately see or hear what we’re doing wrong.
Hopefully I’ve succeeded in coaxing out of this example a discussion on an obstacle to creativity and a few methods to overcome it. Let me know in the comments how you experience this loss of objectivity and what you do to get around it.
[Thanks to B for this essay idea. My apologies if I haven’t accurately represented or understood your predicament!]
Until next time,
Keith.