As a music major, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this. Most of the time it translates to, “I won’t learn anything by playing that piece again.” And most of the time it means you have everything to learn by playing that piece again.
I admit, I am a guilty party. I played movements from the Mozart Clarinet Concerto throughout middle school and high school and added Hindemith’s Sonata for Clarinet to my repertoire by the time I graduated. In my first stages as a music major in college, I felt no need to revisit the “mastered” art of Mozart.
But, thanks to my wonderful educators and peers, I see the performance of music in a new light.
Performing music is like taking a trail through a forest. Eventually, if you have practiced the path of the trail enough, you might be able to run through the forest with your eyes closed.
But that isn’t really the point, is it? Like music, trails in the woods are meant to be savored.
You may think you have walked this trail before, but have you noticed how the sun hits those flowers in the afternoon? Did you know that if you step up onto that rock you can see a robin’s nest in the tree next to the trail?
Music is full of this richness that we learn more about every time we perform it.
Any one of us can follow a trail through the woods. The next step is opening our eyes to seek its endless beauty.
Thanks for reading! (Now go practice!)