Recently I attended a piano concert where the performer played some amazing music. The speed, dynamic contrast, and wide range of color coming out of the piano was truly a marvel. After one of the most exhilarating pieces came to a close, no one could contain their enthusiasm for what they had just heard. Among the applause I overheard an older woman say to her friend, “Well, I guess I’ll just have to sell my piano.”
I was surprised and disturbed. When I am moved by music at a concert, I go out and buy it so I can learn to play it myself one day, if not that day. It never occurred to me that for some people the expression of beautiful music reminds them of feeling inadequate.
It’s easy to compare ourselves to others and then shut the door when we think we don’t measure up. However, music is not just for a select few. It is for everyone. If you have that recurring thought about wanting to learn to play the piano or even to improve your skills, allow yourself the space to do something about it. Will you play the piece with which the concert pianist wowed the crowd? I don’t know, but the desire to create doesn’t go away, and if you have the desire that is what you have in common with the concert pianist. They did something about their desire to play. Will you?
