Knowledge is additive: you can learn just as much on the 180th day of school as on the first.
But learning about your process is cumulative, like following a compass. Slight changes early in the process can have a profound impact on where you end up.
That’s why it’s so important to ask yourself right away: What can I learn from Day One?
There’s not much you can learn from the thirty-third rehearsal of the year that will affect the thirty-fourth. But if you pay attention to the first rehearsal, you can affect every rehearsal afterwards.
Don’t skimp on taking time to reflect, right away, on your process and its effects. That early reflection might make all the difference in the music you’re making next May.