Music and Growth

Last week as I was giving Jenna her piano lesson I was thinking about how much she’s improved in the last few months.  It occurred to me that she could probably learn a fun duet to play with me, but I wondered if I would be able to play it.  When her lesson was over I found the music, sat myself down in front of the piano, and gave it a try.

I last played this music 15 years ago and it was very difficult for me then.  I had needed to mark fingering for many of the complex arpeggios and even with that help had still struggled.

This time I played straight through, from beginning to end.  Not perfectly, but not terribly either.

I was startled.

As I sat there and looked at the music, it occurred to me.  All of those piano/violin duets I played before I left North Carolina—they had improved my ability to play the arpeggios.  All of this music that I’ve been playing this year for the elementary school choirs has improved my ability to play chords and my sight reading as well.  I never thought that those experiences were going to affect anything else (or any other music) in my life.

 

Then it seemed like the spirit spoke to me and said, “this is how life works.”  And I sat there wondering if, in the future, I would hear the little voice in my mind saying “this is easier than it would have been because of what you learned when you moved to Oregon.” 

I can only hope…