It emerges into a kind of mental block, feels like some kind of physical limitation of my pinky... and who knows I may never get it as consistent as I want it. Is it just me? I do sometimes worry that most other players can, you know, just do this. Doubtless some can.
But I decided that this is a minor but important beachhead for my playing and I will continue to play this until I reach either a) some rapprochment with this minor fluke of my technique, or b) become a total burnout case on the tune.
Some things that help, in no particular order:
On that last point, one final observation about the mental tricks I'm trying to play on myself. I think persistence is crucial, because, well, eventually a lot of similar hurdles can be leapt over.
At the heart of that is a drive to push myself toward calm acceptance of my own incompetence. Does it really matter if I'm struggling with something?
Can I just pretend to myself (at the very least) that I can stop berating myself and just keep trying in a relaxed manner? In larger and smaller measures (as it were), this kind of self-talk has pushed me through a tough spot. So at the heart of the matter, you have to have a kind of faith in your brain, body, and talent to keep trying.
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