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On learning an instrument

TLDR: Investigate when a work or composer’s portfolio inspires you, let that exploration fuel an obsession, feel joy with music as you pursue the obsession, and patiently navigate mental/physical challenges with kindness

In my early years, I obsessed (to my core) over Joplin’s Easy Winners, The Entertainer, and Cascades. I remember feeling utterly hindered because I struggled to identify music notes on literally EVERY beat. Overcoming the reading-comprehension hurdle was the onlyoption I gave myself, and I was worried it might takes years (spoiler alert: it did).

So for years, I would reprint sheet music of Beethoven Sonatas, Rachmaninoff Preludes, Chopin Etudes, and Joplin Rags, identifying & writing-in every note while at school. Yes: it was as tedious as it sounds. But eventually, the notes felt familiar, and wiring that comprehension to the fingers, though clumsy, felt more natural. Over time, reading sheet music felt exactly like reading words. For example, right now you aren’t identifying each letter individually as you read this: you’re perceiving the full word and its meaning, including the organization of the phrasing.

That’s the type of fluency I genuinely could only dream of during my early obsession with Joplin when I was around 11. Now, decades and several composer-obsessions later, I’m spiraling back.

• *Solace by Scott Joplin, recorded in 2019