You are your toughest critic...

Or, are you? Well, you should be.

When learning an instrument, a new piece of music or a new musical concept you need to judge your performance most critically. Don't accept "good enough" from yourself. Expect perfection and you will never disappoint your audience. If you play just well enough to get by, your audience will know it and they'll quickly seek out other entertainment. If you play as well as you possibly can at any given moment, your audience will appreciate your effort if nothing else.

If you are taking lessons from someone or playing in a band, your teacher or band mates may not be as hard on you as they need to be for fear of insulting you or pushing you away from lessons or out of the band.

Be your own toughest critic and push yourself to be the best musician you possibly can be.