“Eventually all things fall into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moment and know Everything happens for a reason.” — Albert Schweitzer. I recently got to play my banjo in a music recital. I had tried to play my instrument a couple of times in front of people previously, but had failed from being too nervous or not as familiar with playing banjo as I needed to be. I decided that the music recital consisting of students who were taking lessons at the music shop would be a good way for me to practice playing in front of strangers. I made the commitment to do so. I also decided that I would not back out of my commitment. I made practicing a priority. I paved out some practice time. I knew it was best to practice well before the recital in order to let the muscles in my fingers learn how to move. In order to learn a song well enough for a performance, where you just keep playing forward through the piece as best you can without stopping, you must practice. Though, sometimes starting over from the beginning is warranted. It’s natural to be nervous for a performance. It means you care. Well, I made it through my solo without too many mishaps. The positive comments I received afterwards helped to validate my feelings of happiness. Happy to have succeeded my goal of playing in front of strangers without getting too nervous. I had learned a hard lesson as a child about performing. One time I memorized my song for my first piano recital. When I sat down at the piano, to my surprise, I couldn’t remember how the song started. I think my teacher was more embarrassed than I was. I learned a hard lesson that day — always bring your music with you to a recital. The fact that I had disappointed my piano teacher affected me more than the embarrassment of forgetting how to play my song. I don’t recall ever playing that song again. To this day, I do not remember what song it was. No matter. I have a new song now — Grandfather’s Clock. And I suspect, this time, I won’t forget it till my heart’s last tick tock, tick tock, tick . . . tock . . . chime!
Month: May 2019