#expert+

At the Royal College of Music, they say that when you go out on stage as a student, you must have practised so much that your best performance is good enough. But when you go out there as a professional, your worst performance must be good enough. That involves going far beyond the point at which you think you have perfected what you’re going to play. You must be able to rely on your skills whatever happens, even if you’re terrified or insecure, or things go unexpectedly wrong. The textbooks refer to this as ‘over-learning’. You have to be able to perform under all circumstances, but especially when you have additional challenges. You must be able to carve, cut or sew not only when your materials and tools are compliant and of high quality, but also when there are flaws in the stone or wood, or your instruments are blunt or missing. You must be able to perform when your body is below par; when you’re tired, unwell, stressed or anxious. You have to know what it feels like to be at or beyond the edge of what you are used to – or what you, your materials and the situation will tolerate without falling apart. You have to satisfy the audience, regardless of how you are feeling.