You’re tired. It’s been a long day of classes, homework, and bus rides. Now it’s evening and you have a two-hour rehearsal in front of you.
The temptation is strong to phone it in. You can relax (sing, of course), but not concentrate too hard. Not work too hard.
Let me tell you, hard work is easier.
If you don’t commit to the hard work, you consign yourself to a rehearsal of boring repetition, soulless singing, and little musical progress. You will leave rehearsal more tired than you arrived, and you will feel frustrated by the lack of positive outcome for the two hours of input.
On the other hand, commit to hard work for the duration of your rehearsal, and you will find that you have more energy at the end than you came in with, that you are excited about the progress you’ve made, that you have learned something, improved yourself, and become better connected to your choral colleagues.
Given those two opposing outcomes, it’s a no brainer, isn’t it? In the long run, hard work is easier.