95. Keep On Going
I’ve written about having gone to Dalcroze in #23 in these Things I’ve Learned. And another thing I learned there was to keep going. In sight singing as we worked with singing a piece of music, the teacher kept saying “Don’t lose your place, don’t try to go back and fix it, just keep going and don’t skip a single beat.”
In music I have continued to use that philosophy and even when playing solo’s on the piano, if I goof up and make a mistake, I just keep going, and often I’m the only one who knows a mistake was made. The music in total holds it all together.
And it applies beyond music. You can make mistakes and you can bring yourself to a full stop. You can symbolically flog yourself a little. You can even wallow in the blunder. Or—you can move on. Acknowledge the error but don’t skip a beat. Keep your place and know that life will hold it together.
