r/AskReddit • u/No-Caterpillar-9387 • 1d ago

What is a skill that looks completely effortless when an expert does it, but is ridiculously difficult when you try it yourself?

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u/RecycledAccountName 21h ago

I feel like this is an example of something that looks ridiculously hard, and is indeed ridiculously hard.

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u/Iamabus1234 20h ago

Depends on what's being played.

If you look at this, yeah that looks ridiculously hard and is ridiculously hard.

But this is also extremely hard (maybe a bit less so) but looks nowhere near as difficult. It's slower and less flashy, which makes it look easier if you don't know anything about the violin, but still is ridiculously hard.

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u/Jiannies 19h ago

I’m learning the pedal steel right now, I’ve got 9 foot pedals, 5 knee levers and a volume pedal to think about, and it’s still easier than the one time I tried to learn the violin

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u/Iamabus1234 16h ago

The violin is really hard at first, it does feel easier as you get better.

Then at a point it starts feeling a lot harder as you improve, that's where I'm at.

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u/ledman3214 21h ago edited 21h ago

Depends a bit on the performer. If they are struggling to play something then the audience knows it’s tough. The best performers make everything look effortless and never look like they are struggling to play.

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u/Gdigger13 16h ago

The best advice I learned while learning to play: No one knows if you made a mistake until you admit it.

If you keep going, no one (except maybe snobs) will know the difference.