Show Notes: Episode 39
COMPETE (W3W) with Vocalist Brynnan Brooks
Great to be back in the studio for another episode of Becoming UnDone! Continuing our reboot of my first foray into podcasting, a fairly short-lived show called “Better Every Week” co-hosted with my daughter Brynnan Brooks, I thought it would be great to dust this episode off, recut it a bit, and reproduce it here for my show. Now–as I was listening to our conversation, I was struck by the notion that it is pretty cool that we discussed the importance of being brave, of viewing failure through the lenses of growth, and the show was a little rough around the edges. Our microphones were pretty sketchy. The refrigerator kicked on mid-conversation. I mumbled into the mic too often. But we did it anyway. The best way to get better at something is to withstand sucking at it for a while. And we did.
But after just four episodes, our good intentions were overtaken by pressures, packed calendars, and in some cases good old-fashioned excuses. But as disappointing as that may seem on the surface, there were victories. I learned how to host and post a show. I discovered some ways NOT to record and how NOT to edit. And while I’m still and forever will remain a work in progress, I got better. I persevered. And now we are closing in on our 50th episode.
The conversation was a good one, too. In this installment, then-University of Oklahoma freshman and now Junior Texas Tech University vocal performance major (and my daughter) Brynnan Brooks leads the way to talk about all the ways that competitive athletes and professional artists are different. And even more so how they are a lot alike. It’s a fun topic that I hope you’ll find informative and thought provoking. I hope you’ll enjoy episode 39: COMPETE
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Episode Summary
Exploring the Similarities and Differences Between Sports and the Arts
SUMMARY
Brynnan and Toby discuss the similarities and differences between sports and the arts in this episode. They explore the idea that athletes are performers who practice out of necessity, while musicians are practicers who perform out of necessity. They also touch on the presence of ego in both fields, the focus on excellence versus emotion, and the impact of training and preparation on performance. The conversation highlights the importance of embracing both the process and the outcome in order to achieve success.
TIMESTAMPS
| 0:00:00 | Introduction to the topic of performance in sports and music |
| 0:03:43 | Discussion on the division between sports and the arts |
| 0:06:29 | Exploring the idea of musicians as practicers and athletes as performers |
| 0:10:41 | Examining the presence of egos in sports and music |
| 0:13:08 | Comparing the focus on excellence in sports and emotions in music |
| 0:16:03 | Discussing the impact of performance on individuals |
| 0:19:18 | Exploring the differences between feedback and feedforward skills in sports and music |
| 0:21:31 | Reflecting on the importance of preparation in both sports and music |
| 0:27:08 | Highlighting the similarities between performance in sports and music |
| 0:31:42 | Examining the role of training and preparation in performance |
| 0:38:37 | Discussing the mindset of performers and the importance of accepting mistakes |
| 0:42:10 | Encouraging continuous improvement and remaining true to one’s purpose |
Quotes
- **Brynnan-(0:03:43)**
> “When it’s like a career, that’s when it seems like they’re really a lot more similar than people usually give them credit for or like, notice.”2. **Toby-(0:04:44)**
> “The best way to get better at something is to withstand sucking at it for a while.”3. **Brynnan-(0:06:29)**
> “I think sometimes at the professional level it gets more extreme where athletes are like, well, I want to go play against other teams and I want to go. And so that’s the performances or the players and they’ll practice so that they’re good enough to do that. And then musicians are like, well, I just want to play music.”4. **Toby-(0:07:38)**
> “If you can find that melding where I have a genetic propensity to be good at this, and I’m going to work my tail off to hone this craft as best I can, that’s when special things happen.”5. **Brynnan-(0:10:41)**
> “I think there’s some cool similarities and differences. We’re excited to talk about them today.”6. **Toby-(0:11:57)**
> “I think there’s something to that pursuit of excellence, to being better, to being the best.”7. **Brynnan-(0:13:37)**
> “I think there’s some cool similarities and differences. We’re excited to talk about them today.”8. **Toby-(0:15:12)**
> “It’s almost like complete opposites, but it’s really the same thing. It’s like society has taught me I have to be this one way, and if I’m not, it’s perceived as weakness.”9. **Brynnan-(0:19:44)**
> “And I think there’s the flip side with art, too, where it’s like you go to Broadway to cry at the big ballads or to really feel that, but then you leave and you’re like, did you hear that riff? Did you see when he hit that note? Or when they sustained that thing? They both have to have both.”10. **Toby-(0:21:19)**
> “If you’re solely focused on the outcome, think about the senior class of 22. Who could have predicted how that would have ended? There’s just so much that’s out of our control that if all we worry about is whether we won or whether we lost, it’s almost assuring you of some sort of feeling of failure.”