It's Just Wire and Wood
As part of our music curriculum, our 3rd and 4th grade music students learn how to play the recorder. It's an exciting time for them to learn "real" songs as they master more and more fingerings for specific notes. I was fortunate to catch a lesson last week when a 4th grade class was practicing "Ode to Joy"--a timeless classic. Hearing twenty-five 4th grader students perform Beehthoven on recorders reaffirms what is good and great in this world, and it reminds me of hope. I'm grateful our music teacher opens this part of the world for our students.
I asked the class, however, "Do you ever get frustrated because your brain knows where your fingers should go, but your fingers just don't go there?" The entire class smiled and raised their hands. I shared with them that I was given a guitar for Christmas. I've always wanted to learn to play a few chords to hum to some simple songs. I joked with my wife that I would do this once I retire. She thought I should get started long before I retire, so a guitar showed up under our tree.
Wire and wood. Basically, that's all a guitar is. It's wire and wood, but put together in the right hands, wire and wood can make beautiful music. In my hands, it's not quite so beautiful...yet. I know where my fingers should go. I understand the rhythm and basic notes. I can tune the strings. I even understand the beginning concepts of strumming. But right now, all I seem to be able to get out of my fingers and the guitar are a few, almost solid chords, a bunch of missed strings, and an occassional, "You've got to be kidding me!" from my mouth. Now, I've had these fingers all of my life, and my brain has told my fingers what to do for my entire life. Why can't I get them to do what I want them to do when I want them to do it?
The kids and their recorders, and my guitar and my fingers reminded me about changes and how we implement change. Think about how you handle change? Do you get excited and master everything right away? Does it seem to you changes are coming faster and faster? Do your "fingers" frustrate you because the change doesn't go the way you wanted. If I'm honest with myself, I handle change in all of these ways. Sometimes I'm excited. I cope with different changes in different ways, and sometimes I just get frustrated.
Now, if my fingers would just "listen" to my brain more, the changes between my guitar and me would sound much better!
I asked the class, however, "Do you ever get frustrated because your brain knows where your fingers should go, but your fingers just don't go there?" The entire class smiled and raised their hands. I shared with them that I was given a guitar for Christmas. I've always wanted to learn to play a few chords to hum to some simple songs. I joked with my wife that I would do this once I retire. She thought I should get started long before I retire, so a guitar showed up under our tree.
Wire and wood. Basically, that's all a guitar is. It's wire and wood, but put together in the right hands, wire and wood can make beautiful music. In my hands, it's not quite so beautiful...yet. I know where my fingers should go. I understand the rhythm and basic notes. I can tune the strings. I even understand the beginning concepts of strumming. But right now, all I seem to be able to get out of my fingers and the guitar are a few, almost solid chords, a bunch of missed strings, and an occassional, "You've got to be kidding me!" from my mouth. Now, I've had these fingers all of my life, and my brain has told my fingers what to do for my entire life. Why can't I get them to do what I want them to do when I want them to do it?
The kids and their recorders, and my guitar and my fingers reminded me about changes and how we implement change. Think about how you handle change? Do you get excited and master everything right away? Does it seem to you changes are coming faster and faster? Do your "fingers" frustrate you because the change doesn't go the way you wanted. If I'm honest with myself, I handle change in all of these ways. Sometimes I'm excited. I cope with different changes in different ways, and sometimes I just get frustrated.
- Ancient Greek philospoher Heraclitus wrote, "Nothing endures but change." He lived over 2ooo years ago.
- Isaac Asimov, noted 20th century author and thinker proclaimed, "The only constant is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be."
Now, if my fingers would just "listen" to my brain more, the changes between my guitar and me would sound much better!
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