I got this reply to one of my emails a few weeks ago:

"As I indicated in one email, I have given up on playing piano for over 2 years except for playing it on CDs. It is far more enjoyable."

Let me give my reaction to that.

On the one hand, this sounds like a perfectly reasonable position, and based on conversations I've had, I'm guessing it applies to most people reading this email.

But, it puts me in a weird spot because...if you’ve given up on piano, what do we talk about then?

I want to ask some questions to get a sense of where this fits into your life.

Let's zoom out for a second.

What is the bigger picture?

Imagine, when you started playing piano, it was like you hired piano to do a job for you. To fill some role in your life.

What job did you hire piano to do?

After you fired piano, what replaced it?

Was it the CD player that replaced it? No, I don't think so.

I mean, even back when you started piano, you were smart enough to know that the easiest way to fill your house with music was always playing recordings. It was never piano.

So, the CD player isn’t a replacement for piano. That’s something else.

Now, you might be right. Maybe piano isn’t the answer. Maybe we should connect on something else.

But, I suspect this story has more to it.

Could we try to nail it down so that, at least, it’s a good story?

And if piano ends up being the villain in this tale, so much the better.

—Michael

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