She could not only play the piano well but a dozen other instruments. I was always amazed when I saw her perform.
I however was not musically gifted. I learned elementary piano skills due to not doing that long. I certainly tried but she probably realized that you can’t teach rhythm to me or at least with the tools and ability that she possessed.
I don’t blame her. Some people have the gift of music. Although I appreciate music, I haven’t been able to feel that music came naturally to me. When I was a teenager I tried to teach myself violin. A friend let me borrow theirs and after some small repairs, it was in good shape. I enjoyed making it squeak but nothing beautiful came out from it like the Bach and Saint-Saens video I shared earlier. So when I see people play a string instrument I know it takes talent.
Why am I sharing this with you? Sometimes people randomly come to my mind when I am not thinking about anything consciously. She was patient. She had to be teaching kids who probably irritated her sense of rhythm and ability. For this reason, I find organ/piano/keyboard skills especially impressive. I tried it and only a few times did I feel the music flow. Most of the time it was like doing something you dislike. You do it, but there is no joy in it.
I have seen and admired many gifted people in my life. There are so many ways to have skills and do things that I will never be able to do. I have a friend who is incredibly gifted with video games. He always seemed to beat whatever game was put in front of him in school. I remember when kids would trade video games with each other and I remember how he said he beat it seemingly the next time I heard him talk. I on the other hand struggled and only beat a few video games which was fine. It wasn’t a contest and I wanted to play games I only enjoyed.
We tend to both enjoy things we are good at, and are good at things we enjoy. One of the things that have worked for me in my life is to find things that I am good at and focus on that. You can no doubt improve your skills in things you are not good at, but I’m not convinced that is the best use of our time. Why not work with our natural abilities instead of against them? I’m not saying to avoid doing difficult things. You grow by doing difficult things. But do them in a way that supports your natural abilities. So that over time you will show others you can learn and grow and be more valuable to them.