Difficult Music

Music lessons push and challenge you. Like an athlete in a workout, the goal is to get stronger even though it hurts. Sometimes the music you practice is not the music you enjoy. But you do it because it strengthens your fingers. You do it because it makes you a better musician.

It’s hard work. It’s progress. It’s discipline. It feels like a virtue. And it often is. But sometimes it’s the wrong the approach. Sometimes it can hold you back. An obsession with getting better can keep you from the real purpose of music: to enjoy, to share, and to inspire. In other words, do your work, sure, but don’t forget to play.

In music you are meant to play. You are encouraged to have fun and to be creative. You play an instrument. You play with other musicians. You play a song. You play music. You don’t fight it or try to conquer it. As a musician, you are like a child actor in a comedy, or a fantasy, or maybe a tragedy. But whatever it is, you are happy because you get to play.

I took piano lessons for several years when I was young. At one point I pushed myself to learn a difficult piece. It was a wild ride, all over the place. And it took a long time to learn. I wondered, more than once, was it really worth the time and effort?

When I finally learned it and performed it for my parents, my Dad said, “That sounded difficult.” He was right. It was difficult. It was meant to be that way. Working through it made me a better musician. But the most important thing I learned was that “it sounded difficult.” Not fun, not sad, not beautiful, just difficult.

The lesson I learned, the thing I try to remember, is that sometimes, not always, but sometimes the easy way is the best way: the simple way, the intuitive way, the joyful way. Sometimes the simplest, unadorned folk song can be as moving as a great symphony.

Music can be hard, but it usually doesn’t need to be.