I think that one has to define terms first. Anders Ericsson - whom Gladwell relied on so heavily - was focused almost solely on a form of practice he called "de

I think that one has to define terms first. Anders Ericsson - whom Gladwell relied on so heavily - was focused almost solely on a form of practice he called "deliberate practice"; and he set about defining its characteristics. Playing a gig wouldn't meet many of Ericsson's criteria. Mainly the goal, in the moment, isn't systematic improvement. That said, if we loosen the criteria, there's no reason we _can't_ count playing a gig as practice. After all, some neuromuscular/cognitive development is taking place.