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What does a software developer do every day that's the equivalent of a musician practicing their scales?

fuzzfactor 4y ago
Twitter fails to function on my browser but this is a very good question when it comes to food for thought. Keep in mind the difference between practice and rehearsal is like night and day. Plus not every musician actually practices, sometimes daily sometimes not, and often no scales at all. Some get to the point of performing every day in a way that obviates the need for actual practice, but also might engage in intense rehearsal in preparation for major milestone performances. Very interested to see responses from different developers.
- strugglinbetter 4y ago
  Thanks for clarification, fuzzfactor. I wonder how much correlation there is between the amount of time spent practicing and the amount of success a musician has achieved, and whether that can apply to developers as well.
  - fuzzfactor 4y ago
    Some musicians (like Mozart) supposedly didn't need much training or practice and just sat down at the keyboard and created masterpieces. I think talent is the bigger variable than practice. For some reason I like to practice quite a bit ;-) It always seems like the more practice the better as long as it is enjoyable to me. Not just scales or other proven exercises, as a form of practice I think the process of learning new songs, even if you never intend to perfect or perform them, can be a sensible alternative for overall improvement. Might be analogous to learning a new programming language or data handling approach which is not actually needed for your particular profession, but might make you a better developer after all. Now with real rehearsal I wanted to concentrate on the exact tunes the way the bandleader wants them to come out, I don't expect this to be fully enjoyable at all times. It takes discipline that may not be necessary with ordinary practice, but my goal is to be accomplished enough at the right time to fully enjoy every performance itself with no uncertainty. Sometimes repeatedly, the rehearsal needs to accomodate things that practice does not and vice versa.

Twitter fails to function on my browser but this is a very good question when it comes to food for thought. Keep in mind the difference between practice and rehearsal is like night and day. Plus not every musician actually practices, sometimes daily sometimes not, and often no scales at all. Some get to the point of performing every day in a way that obviates the need for actual practice, but also might engage in intense rehearsal in preparation for major milestone performances. Very interested to see responses from different developers.

strugglinbetter 4y ago
Thanks for clarification, fuzzfactor. I wonder how much correlation there is between the amount of time spent practicing and the amount of success a musician has achieved, and whether that can apply to developers as well.
- fuzzfactor 4y ago
  Some musicians (like Mozart) supposedly didn't need much training or practice and just sat down at the keyboard and created masterpieces. I think talent is the bigger variable than practice. For some reason I like to practice quite a bit ;-) It always seems like the more practice the better as long as it is enjoyable to me. Not just scales or other proven exercises, as a form of practice I think the process of learning new songs, even if you never intend to perfect or perform them, can be a sensible alternative for overall improvement. Might be analogous to learning a new programming language or data handling approach which is not actually needed for your particular profession, but might make you a better developer after all. Now with real rehearsal I wanted to concentrate on the exact tunes the way the bandleader wants them to come out, I don't expect this to be fully enjoyable at all times. It takes discipline that may not be necessary with ordinary practice, but my goal is to be accomplished enough at the right time to fully enjoy every performance itself with no uncertainty. Sometimes repeatedly, the rehearsal needs to accomodate things that practice does not and vice versa.