The best way to learn is by repetition. What do you do when the things you’re trying to learn only happen occasionally?
Learning through repetition comes in three steps: you do something, you reflect on it, and you do it again.
That’s true for multiplication practice – that’s why those worksheets in elementary school contained dozens of problems. And it’s true for solo singing – that’s why the person who spends the most time performing their solos is generally the most accomplished.
But it’s also true for big, complex things – things you can’t repeat regularly. I plan an international choir tour every other year. That means that I have only been able to plan six in the last 12 years. I haven’t had a lot of chances to learn, because I haven’t had a lot of chances to repeat the process.
In that case, the important thing is to increase the reflection time. When I’m doing multiplication, I can jump quickly to the next problem, because there are lots of chances for a tiny bit of reflection. When I’m doing something that only happens biannually, I give myself a lot more time – at various points in the process – to deeply think about what went well and what needs revision.
That reflection time literally serves as extra repetitions of a project – in your mind.