I’ve been thinking lately about why kids seem to be content when they are learning something new, like learning the piano, unlike adults, who seem to spend so much energy wondering whether they are going to be any good.
If you think of a five or six year old, they don’t worry whether they will learn things like learning to read – they just get taught what to do and then they practice reading. They have no expectations as to whether they will be any good or not and they have no concept of failing at the task. It is only after a few years that some kids get to the point of saying that they are not any good at it, but they never start at that point. Learning to play a musical instrument is exactly the same – there are no doubts as to whether they have any potential, they just learn.
I remember being a six year old just mucking around with the newly arrived piano in our home and being curious about all the sounds and the sound combinations. I never actually asked if I could have lessons, my parents asked me if I wanted piano lessons and I remember very clearly saying ‘oh yeah’ in a very casual way. I had no concept of debating whether I would be any good – it just never occurred to me, whereas since becoming an adult, I have learned new skills and I have always debated whether I should be trying because I was often convinced I was never going to be good enough at something.
I think kids don’t doubt their ability to do anything because they instinctively know that it will take time to become really good at something and that they just enjoy the whole process. I must admit that I absolutely loved playing the pieces in my beginner piano book. To me they were just lovely and even though they were simple, it didn’t matter because I was enjoying playing the piano. I loved those pieces so much, that I still have it. Not just a copy of that piano book, but my copy. Even now, I can’t bear the thought of throwing it out.
Maybe the difference between adults learning to play the piano and kids learning to play, is that kids don’t give much thought to the arrival point but rather they just focus on enjoying the journey in the present and that is all that matters to them. I think us adults can think too much and be too focused on the end result. May us adults just need to take a leaf out of kids’ books and just focus on enjoying what we are learning or doing, in the here and now.
So get started with learning or re-learning to play the piano and just focus on enjoying playing every note. Do not even consider for a moment whether you are going to be good enough because it is such a waste of time and energy.