"In short, the less you know, the less able you are to recognize how little you know, so the less likely you are to recognize your errors and shortcomings."Essentially, once we know a little bit about a topic, we tend to assume we know more about that topic than we actually do. I refer to this as knowing just enough to be dangerous.
This seems especially prevalent in our field. Since everyone enjoys music of some kind, many believe themselves to be experts on identifying "good" singing and "bad" singing, even if they can't articulate the qualities that cause them to make those assessments.
Intriguingly, the Dunning-Kruger Effect also accounts for the converse of assuming we know more than we do. As Pryor describes,
"For the highly skilled, like trained scientists, the opposite is true: The more you know, the more likely you are to see how little you know."This makes sense, when you think about it. The more you learn about a topic, the more you begin to see its depth and the intricacies that require deeper understanding. In music theater, most people can enjoy COMPANY as an entertaining show. But you may have a more intense appreciation for its impact if you know Sondheim's work up to that point and can track his development as a lyricist and composer.
Pryor sums up what may be the take-away message of the article by saying,
"Most doctors, especially the good ones, are acutely aware of the limits of their knowledge. I have learned from those much more experienced and qualified than me that humility is something to be cultivated over time, not lost."When I went to college, coming from a small high school in a small town, I was stunned to realize how much I had to learn about music and singing, which were the two things I supposedly knew more about than any other subject.
Back then, and still today, I find I learn the most when I accept and embrace that fact I can never know everything. This keeps me hungry and curious without being frustrated that I don't already know more than I do.
How has your singing been this week?
Now go practice.
The part where essentially music was your strong suit but when you came to college you realized how much more you had to know is super relatable. I came to the U from a small town where I was "one of the best" talent wise. I knew that it was gonna be a kick in the face moving here because I had no prior training in music, voice, or dance. But I adjusted well. This week I have going through all of my songs over and over again worried about how auditions are going to go but I have been just taking a step back recently and just letting the music happen and not trying to force it to happen.
ReplyDeleteAs you brought up college and the realization you had about your knowledge of music with connection to being from a small town, it really made me think back to when I first started in this program. I was completely thrown back by how little I actually knew about the technical side of acting. In my high school drama class, we mainly did improv games and were just assigned scenes. We never really dove into tactics, objectives, and how your goal was to affect your partner. So being it with such a wall was absolutely terrifying to me, but I was also very excited to extend my knowledge. Sure, I came into this knowing less than some of my peers, but I fully embraced that idea. I’ve also considered myself a fairly curious person who enjoys learning, and within in this career field there’s never a point where you stop learning. Which I love.
ReplyDeleteMy singing this week has been okay I guess. I find myself trying to have more fun with my songs, really developing the character, but my mind is also very focused on auditions and everything else --- I also think this kind of helps because then I don’t have the energy to stress over singing, I just go for it and hope for the best. That’s really where my mindset is lately.
I really resonated with the part about learning to accept that you will never know everything. The sooner you can accept that you can't possibly know everything, the sooner you can have fun and be curious in your learning. It's always exciting to learn new things and make discoveries that's why I love the arts so much. Art is always changing and you can always learn from someone else who has had a different experience than your own.
ReplyDeleteMy singing this week has been very insightful. I'm finally starting to really home in on where I feel certain tone qualities and what shapes I need to use to use to achieve them without extra pressure and ease. I'm also finding a lighter/ head voice mix that I quite enjoy and will probably start singing from that place more often now.
I really connected to the idea of knowing a little and taking yourself to be an expert. I definitely consider myself a mildly educated vocalist but I am educated enough to recognize that I have no idea what I am listening for aside from the outliers of good and bad as far as vocal technique in others. It is also interesting in how much that relates to the current internet culture with the passing around of politics and bad advice.
ReplyDeleteMy singing this week has been in and out. I'm right on the verge or beginning to be sick and so my voice has been questionable at best. In rehearsals my voice goes right where it needs to which is nice for getting through but trying to grow in my practice has been much harder.
This idea is so relevant for musical theatre and singing in general. I've learned a great amount through my 4 years training here, but sometimes I feel that I've widened my horizons too much and the overwhelming amounts of possible knowledge can make me feel as though I have learned nothing at all. There are so many different approaches and studies done in the voice that there will always be something new to learn. I find that even though it can be overwhelming, it's in my best interest to retain everything I have learned; but as I continue to learn and grow, I take what works and leave what doesn't. I've worked with vocal coaches and taken masterclasses where I feel completely incompetent in my own voice because the approach can be so different than what I'm used to. I have to be ok with sounding bad to find how to make it sound good. So the more I know, the better; but only taking what works for my specific voice type is how I continue to learn and grow in my instrument.
ReplyDeletePracticing has been WEAK just because I've had a lot of other demanding things to focus on. I am currently focusing on my rep for my senior recital and the practicing for that has been going well.
I love this. My belief systems are almost entirely based in the idea that I don't know much, and unless I can educate myself further, I should accept that I don't know. Learning about vocal pedagogy has been a great example of this, because prior to our learning, the vocal folds may as well have been an actual box. I didn't understand why I couldn't sing in the same way as many of my very talented friends, and performers whom I admire, ad assumed I must just not be good enough (almost a converse reaction to the ones in the post). Until I accepted that my sounds was my own, while changeable and flexible, is my own, and that while my voice may be lower and different, is in fact no less of quality than anyone else's. All I need do is learn how my muscles react to stimulae and how to effectively manuever them. This has been my biggest motivator and inspiration in pursuing a more trained and knowledgeable voice.
ReplyDeleteI am familiar with this effect but had no idea it had been studied and was granted its own name. I think the Dunning-Kruger Effect has a large part to do with why I've chosen to be an artist. I love the fact that I will never know all there is to know about acting or music; I love that I can never truly "master" anything no matter how good I get and the fact that art is subjective amplifies that fact. The knowledge that the road I'm on is not a "finish-able" one excites me because I know that I get to remain hungry and active all of the time. I don't have to feel settled and routine by any means in my career if I don't wish to and I love that.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting! The understanding that when someone who knows little about a subject assumes they know more than they actually do -- is present everywhere in our society right now. I feel like so many people (including myself) can have such strong opinions about subject matters they know little to nothing about! The presence of absolutism can feel toxic and quite negative at times. I think that staying curious, learning and listening is the best anecdote for this. Accepting our humanity and the fact that we know so little, is relieving. I love not knowing. I can see how this effect folds into so many avenues of our life. It's very unpopular right now to accept that we do not know-- but it feels like the more compassionate and healing route.
ReplyDeleteThis. Is. Great.. Same as Nathan, my belief systems and life philosophy is based on this idea. It's an interesting twisty kind of concept. At what point between knowing nothing and knowing everything does one switch into thinking they know less and less rather than more? People who live against this idea tend to drive me crazy, because I don't feel like either of us is gaining anything from talking to each other. I'm excited to see how little I know many years from now. Just in the past four years I feel like I've had exponential perspective shifts. So many ah-hah! moments. And I think that's true for most people my age, moving out and learning to be an adult gives you major perspective. At least it did for me.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to the feeling of coming from a smaller town with less developed artistic programs and lacking in training. I surely plateaued in my learning before coming to college, and for the first year felt like I was playing catch up. I need to remind myself daily that there is never a cap on how much I can learn and grow. Noticing and dictating "good" and "bad" singing has something I have tried to be more clear about in my Dem Lab responses this semester. We're all learning the same things, and it easier now to recognize issues (tension, lack of support, intonation) and why they are happening. I also learn so much sitting in Dem Lab through hearing and watching the ways others negotiate difficult passages and ranges. Taking this week slower following the over use of my voice during auditions over the weekend. Preparing to sing in the masterclass Thursday and DemLab this Friday. Then off to Spring Break for a week of much needed vocal, physical, and mental rest.
ReplyDeleteThis actually relates really well with the stuff we were talking about last lesson. As I stated in there, it was really easy for me to find fault, or lack of enjoyment in an artform, because I hadn't peeled back enough layers to really understand the artistry required to do it properly. Both that and this article are a nice reminder that knowledge is power, and to deny yourself a full education in anything you love is foolish at best, and dangerous at worst. To me, this perfectly epitomizes how the arrogant have ego and the successful artists have humility.
ReplyDeleteI really love this because I think that it encourages a lifelong pursuit of learning. One of the things I really love about studying the arts is that there seems to be no end point where I can say, "I know everything" or "I'm good enough now" because there is always something new and it would take lifetimes to really master acting. I recently started working for SLFS and I have realized how much I don't know about film and so many films, directors, styles that I've never heard of before and I've loved getting to delve deeper into a medium that I've always loved. But there's so much!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting concept I have never really thought about! Wow how it rings true however. When I moved to Salt Lake City from po dunk South Dakota, my world changed. I thought I knew everything I needed to know about the types of people in this world and the experiences that can be had on this Earth. I look back now and realize that I knew close to nothing. Thinking I was so culturally aware and in reality I grew up with no diversity. It is interesting to come to terms with things like this. Understanding that it's okay to not know everything, and that it isn't my fault for being raised in such a Caucasian-heavy environment. I have to humble myself in that now I just have the rest of my life to continue learning and expanding my horizons:)
ReplyDeleteThis is certainly an ancient idea, as Socrates said, "I know that I know nothing". I try to certainly keep heel to this philosophy in my day to day life, and in particular I try to hold onto it in my theatre training. I feel that since I have the luxury of not having done any theatre until I started my college education, I don't ever get to feel that I know more than I do. This is especially true when it comes to singing. My lack of experience keeps me humble. I know for a fact that I have an immense amount to learn when it comes to singing. I suppose that might also make me susceptible to pseudoscience, but I'm fairly certain that this class does a very good job of steering away from that.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger I resisted the idea of "knowing nothing". It scared me and made me feel more vulnerable than I wanted. The older I've become the more I've come to the conclusion that "knowing nothing" presents the opportunity to evolve and venture into curiosity and growth. I really try to encompass this into my life. Coming to that conclusion wasn't always easy however, it came with a lot of questioning and it still makes me anxious now. It wasn't until I entered this program and focused on philosophy and spirituality that I was able to understand that it's just fine not to know everything, to question and to fail OFTEN. I want to continue to live life with curiosity and hopefully come to terms with the knowing that I will NOT know everything and there is something magical about that. It presents the opportunity to learn more in the many lifetimes to come.
ReplyDeleteI have been so behind on blogs because I am trash and because I am trying to make sure I have all my ducks in a row for graduation.
ReplyDelete"For the highly skilled, like trained scientists, the opposite is true: The more you know, the more likely you are to see how little you know."
This quote is actually in my senior project and I think that it is so true.
The more you know the more aware you are of how little you know and I totally find that true in my practice. Especially as I become a more skilled vocalist I realize how far behind I am with my music reading skills. Over the summer I really want to make musicality a priority. I want to make sure that when I move to NY I have the tools to learn music by myself because I won't have Brian and Julie in my back pocket to plunk something out for me and I really should not be relying on my ear as much as I have been.