How to Ask Better Questions When You Practice

When you’re practicing, it’s important to learn to ask effective questions. We all have a constant narrative going through our head, and a lot of times this narrative can be filled with self-doubt and judgment. But it’s possible to increase your awareness of this inner voice and start to take charge of the questions you ask yourself.

Learning to ask good questions will help make your time spent practicing the piano more effective.

CURIOSITY

Curiosity is a natural human tendency. There is a well-known Shel Silverstein poem called “What’s in the Sack?” The accompanying sketch shows a small man carrying an ENORMOUS sack on his back. The sack could be filled with absolutely anything.

In the poem, he wonders why everyone never wants to talk about anything with him EXCEPT to ask what’s in the sack.

The human brain is naturally inquisitive. Even the poem assumes that by the end, the reader will also wonder what’s in the sack.

We go around all day asking ourselves questions.

• “Why did she say that?”
• “Is he mad at me?”
• “Why is that light flashing?”
• “What is my dog really thinking right now?”

We ask ourselves questions constantly. It’s because the world is an interesting place, and we are wired to find solutions to the environment around us.

Writers exploit our inherent sense of curiosity, strategically placing cliffhangers at the ends of book chapters and TV episodes to leave narrative ends unresolved. The point is to leave things unresolved and make you wonder, “What happens next?” How many times have you groaned out loud at the end of an episode of something, frustrated because you had SO MANY QUESTIONS…and none of them were answered.

THE SOCRATIC METHOD

The Socratic method of teaching harnesses the brain’s natural tendency to seek answers. Instead of just telling a student the answer or giving instructions, a teacher asks the student a series of questions designed to prompt active engagement.

When I use the Socratic method in my own teaching, I will notice something the student is doing at the piano and ask questions that explore in more detail why the student is making that particular choice.

I might say something like, “What do you want this to sound like here?” Or “What is the composer trying to say in this phrase?”

Teaching using the Socratic method engages the student and uses their sense of curiosity to seek solutions and answers for themselves.

THE EFFECT QUESTIONS HAVE ON THE BRAIN

Questions have an immediate effect on the brain. They hijack whatever we were thinking about and distract from the task at hand. When we ask ourselves a question, it’s a trigger for our subconscious to go in search of the answer.

Some of the best inventions happened because people had questions they wanted to answer. One day, somebody asked: “Is there life on the moon?” And nobody knew the answer, so they sent some people to the moon to find out, making history in the process.

SELF-DEFEATING QUESTIONS

We are taught that there’s no such thing as a “bad” question, but it turns out there are good questions and there are bad questions you can ask. Bad questions assume you are incapable and involve negative self-talk.

Here are some examples of bad questions:

• “Why can’t I ever play this right?”
• “Why am I so much worse than so-and-so?”
• “What’s the point of practicing if I’m not getting any better?”
• “Why am I so dumb?”

These questions are obviously self-defeating and irrational when viewed in the cold light of day. However, it’s really common to have an inner monologue that consists of a barrage of questions like these.  

The problem with bad questions is that if you ask them, your subconscious doesn’t assess the merit of the question. It will still go out in search of an answer to it. And the next thing you know, you will be constructing a whole list of self-defeating and negative thoughts about yourself – reasons that give merit to those absurd questions.

So, if I ask myself, “Why am I so dumb?” The brain could come back with answers like:

• “You just weren’t born with smarts. There’s no point in trying.”
• “You are just too lazy to really pay attention.”
• “Difficult concepts are beyond your capacity to understand them. That’s just the way it is.”

But of course, that line of questioning and thinking is totally counterproductive and those statements are simply untrue. This is how self-limiting beliefs get formed.

HELPFUL QUESTIONS

If you’re anything like me, your inner monologue is basically a stream of questions you ask yourself all day long. It is actually possible to take control of your mental narrative. When practicing, it’s essential to learn how to channel your mental energy in a direction where you are asking higher-quality questions.

Here are some example of good questions:

• What is the character of this music?
• What did the composer mean by that marking?
• What key does this modulation take me to in this section?

Good questions are empowering and keep you focused on the aspects that you can control. Bad questions serve to amplify your self-doubt and only discourage you.

Strategies:

Start noticing what thoughts are going through your mind while you practice. In the practice room, keep a notebook handy and write down thoughts you notice, especially any negative ones.

Start replacing negative questions with better questions. To redirect your attention, focus on one small detail in the music you are working on and improve that.

Start seeing mistakes as opportunities: use a mistake to help trigger you to ask questions.

Imagine that your teacher is in the room. What questions would your teacher ask?

Further reading: Three questions to ask yourself the next time you practice.

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