What was that again?

I teach a couple of large weekly classes as well as private lessons to those who are interested in learning music – (mostly on ukulele.) Because there are so many students of various skills, I often “scatter shot” the info I deliver in the hope that some part of it will reach all students. Some of it is simple for the beginners, and some of it is a bit advanced for those who have been around longer. I remind the less advanced students to ask questions, but to also simply put that information they don’t understand “into orbit” – to let it fly around above their head for later, when it will make better sense. (Read my post about that here.)

Often times however, many feel overwhelmed and even a bit discouraged at the idea that they aren’t learning fast enough and that they may never will.

But have you ever read a book and after finishing, felt there was something you missed – so you read it again? And again? I’ve done that a couple of times, and with each re-read, I understood it more and I even discovered some things I previously hadn’t noticed. Obviously, the book was something I cared about enough to finish in the first place, and then to read again and again. Sometimes, I have re-read a book simply to be reminded of its valuable message.

And so it is often that way with music: we want to learn, so we play, practice, and take lessons. But sometimes it is only by re-visiting a lesson, or by being reintroduced to a particular idea over and over, that we can really begin to integrate those difficult concepts into our minds and understanding.

It happens all the time – that’s how we learn.

Could you drive a car the very fist time you sat in one? Did you learn to cook in one evening? Writing, sports, sewing, graphic design, photography… you name it – they all take time to learn and even more time to discover all the little hidden tricks and minutia associated with those skills.

The notion that a ukulele is “easy to play” is very misleading. Sure, it is easier to play, as it only has four strings, and some chords require only one finger on one string – but music… that’s a skill that simply takes some time to learn.

It’s easy to begin however, and that’s what is so wonderful to realize. Just get started and go from there.

To quote from a book I’ve read over and over:

“Sometimes it’s a little better to travel than to arrive”
― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values