My piano lesson this week was pretty frustrating.
I felt overwhelmed as I tried to manage doing one thing with my left hand and another with my right, all while staying on the beat.
My patient piano teacher reminded me that being overwhelmed is all in your head, and that it’s natural to have some confusion when you’re learning something new. That might be true, but it’s still tough for someone who likes to be good at things.

That’s why I loved this message our friend Ittai Shapira sent me after I blogged about starting beginner piano lessons:

Just wanted to say that now you know what I go through every single day – be it piano or violin, the process is the same!..:)

A nice little pep talk note from our friend, Ittai — who by the way is a professional violinist who played a violin solo at Carnegie Hall that was written expressly for him.
When my piano teacher said, don’t worry, it’s not like you have to be good enough to play Carnegie Hall, I laughed because I’d just gotten this note from Ittai — and he reminded me that even after you’ve gotten to Carnegie Hall, you have to practice, practice, practice.
Here’s Ittai in action. The results of his practicing sound a lot better than mine. For now.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpmug6cUtfw]