I’ve had for the last 25 years. In it, I’m a college student, waiting backstage to play a jury, when I realize I never learned the piece I’m supposed to play. My entire body goes numb with dread. I have five minutes to learn and memorize the Hindemith Sonata, but I’ve never even looked at the music. 

My mind races from, “Maybe I could learn this before they call my name,” to “How could I have not learned this piece before now?” to “I guess I’m going to flunk out of school and go tend sheep.” 

Inevitably, I wake up in a cold sweat before my lack of preparation is exposed on stage, but the fact that I’ve been having this same dream for so long reveals a deep-seated fear. 

I’ve had these generic preparation-themed dreams too, but they lack the specific flavor of terror present in the music version.

I think most people experience some form of this recurring “unprepared” dream. You have a test but have never been to class, or you didn’t know about a big project that is due. I’ve had these generic preparation-themed dreams too, but they lack the specific flavor of terror present in the music version. Maybe that’s because being unprepared for a performance not only feels like a personal failure, but a public one as well. Anyone who has experienced the intense anxiety of being less than completely prepared for a performance, or even an orchestra rehearsal, can understand how these feelings would creep into your subconscious. For me, this dream seems to recur when I have a lot of new music I need to learn, rather than when I have one big performance coming up. The time crunch feels particularly stressful when I’m trying to process lots of new notes. 

Obviously, we all try to avoid situations where we have to cram music, yet we all find ourselves there from time to time. Sometimes it’s because of our lack of preparation, other times, the situation is beyond our control. No matter how we got there, we have to find our way out of it. So what do you do when you are staring at a stack of music to learn and the clock is ticking? Panic! Kidding…though panic is probably my first instinct. The first thing you should do is turn to page 26 of this issue and read the feature article, How to Learn a Mountain of Music in Minimal Time. 

This article landed on my desk at just the right time this fall. I was hit with a perfect storm of long-term prep and last-minute gigs, and was beginning to panic as I measured the number of new notes against the dwindling days I had to learn them. I read the six steps author Carla Fabris lays out for learning music quickly and efficiently. A few were strategies I already use in my preparation, but it was still helpful to see them spelled out and reinforced. A couple of the suggestions were framed differently than I typically think of them. Reading the advice in a different light gave new energy to my practicing. One tip in the article led to a lightbulb moment for me. It is something that makes sense when you think about it, but I’d never really thought about it before. 

I won’t spoil the surprise by revealing this nugget of wisdom here. You’ll have to read it for yourself. While you’re doing that, I need to go practice—I still have a lot of music to learn. But first, I’m going to take a walk. •