Piano Wo(man)?

A few weeks ago, Hannah shared her frustration with me.

She had sat down at the piano at school and started playing a few bars of a Christmas song she knew. Before she could get very far, another student stepped in, sat down, and proceeded to wow everyone with “The Entertainer,” the kind of performance you’d expect from the pianist at the Grand Floridian at Disney.

Hannah wasn’t upset with the other student. She was frustrated with herself.

What she really wanted was a song she knew by heart; something she could sit down and play anywhere, something that would stop people and make them listen.

I asked her a simple question:

“Why can’t you do the same thing?”

That was all the spark she needed.

She went straight to YouTube, explored a few options, and eventually landed on “Piano Man.” She downloaded and printed the arrangement and started practicing.

But the piano alone wasn’t enough.

Soon she was asking about a harmonica. My parents had one from my grandparents’ house, and she started playing around with it. It was old, a little beat up, and honestly pretty rad, until it accidentally went through the wash. So she ordered a new one on Amazon.

Next came the harmonica holder, the kind that lets you play piano and harmonica at the same time. Heather ordered that too, and before long Hannah was plugging away, experimenting with how it all fit together.

Since she didn’t yet know “Piano Man” well enough to coordinate both instruments, she shifted to a song she already knew. And just like that, she was playing piano accompanied by harmonica.

She still has a ways to go before “Piano Man” becomes a full-blown party trick, but she’s well on her way.

So what’s the lesson?

It’s not really about the piano or the harmonica. It’s about motivation.

In this case, frustration was the catalyst. But frustration isn’t the only motivator for learning. Sometimes we’re motivated because something looks fun. Sometimes we need a skill for school or work. Sometimes curiosity alone is enough.

Whatever the motivation, the lesson is the same: take action.

That small spark, if you follow it, can turn into a party trick, a useful skill at work, or maybe even the beginning of something much bigger.

Learn in the flow of life.

Jason