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Note: Today’s post is by David Hester, who has been exploring an alternative approach to Piobaireachd playing at his website, altpibroch.com. Many have remarked on the similarity between top-level athletes and top-level musicians: •They compete under intense pressure They perform before audiences, whether in public before fans and aficionados, or in private before judges or coaches or panels At the top of their game, they appear to be unshakeable in the ability to do their best at moments when it is required of them The difference between success and failure can be milliseconds for athletes, a single missed note for musicians. The difference between good and great is the difference between consistent outcomes and random performance. The question of how excellence can be achieved was addressed in a seminal article by a team of researchers lead by Dr. K. Anders Eriksson.  Through consistent, deliberate practice, breakthroughs can be achieved. (This article is the basis of the now famous "10,000-hour ...