MUSIC LEARNING

A common stereotype of my tribe is that many of us are music wizards and can somehow magically pick up a musical instrument and play. I can attest from learning piano for many years that it is definitely not the case. This is an area where my mind and body are often on completely opposite poles. I have a lot of music in me, thanks to years of listening to music from all around the world. Yet the motor challenges have deter me from making significant progress.

Presuming competence and coaching for motor skills should be the guiding principle of any music teaching involving our tribe. I started learning piano from a genuinely lovely teacher that simply didn’t understand me or how I learnt. Every session ended up being a struggle and I had to give my everything to just keep my body together – and was not always successful. I lost motivation to learn.

It took a lot of perseverance from my parents and finding the perfect teacher in the last couple of years for me to rekindle my interest in learning and make meaningful progress. Music is not a birthright for all of us nor are we music geniuses. But it is something the really passionate can learn with sincere, sustained and directed effort.