1,000 Days of Piano - Day 31: Changing Habits

Whoever said, “Old habits die hard,” wasn’t kidding. STOP-PREPARE is tricky business after decades of learning to play the pieces the traditional way. The temptation to take it at least a quarter tempo measure by measure beckons, a slow siren song luring me away from a new practice. Call it irony—my impatience to learn quickly is pulling me to slow down. How tedious would it be to learn the Gigue note by note? The recording goes so fast..how will I ever keep up?

In the end I will do it my own way, using every tool in my tool box, including STOP-PREPARE. I’m supposed to be opening myself up to something new, not rigidly following a practice for which I have no training. The more I know, the more I realize how very little I know and how much I have to learn. I might as well admit to how very little I know and just learn the music as best I can. Wisdom brings patience, and patience brings acceptance. For now I must be content with where I am on the journey.