We’ve all played badly. We’ve all played well. There are times when we played well and gotten terrible reviews. Times when we’ve played terribly and are ready to commit suicide and discovered everybody liked it.

The quote above is from a juror at a piano competition, explaining that all the jurors have “been there, done that”.

I am watching Beyond the Practice Room, on KCSM, which is about a competition in New York for young (ages 14-18) pianists. Terribly fun to watch. Humbling, of course.

Earlier today I was watching something on YouTube (I can’t even remember what now) and thinking about how incredible some musicians are, and how much time has gone into training for these musicians. Hearing that one of the jurors in the movie, when she was young, practiced all day long (with breaks for eating, a walk, and an English lesson).

If you want to record it, it’s on KCSM again at 2:00 AM on January 11.

Man, I love hearing the artists’ talk about their performances: “It was okay.” “It could have been worse.” It was better than I feared and not as good as I hoped.” “My hands were numb.”

Geesh … one young man’s father stayed up all night, playing classical music for the children while they slept, having heard that classical music is good for learning. Okay, then.

I must say, I’m simply amazed by pianists.

We oboists? We. Play. One. Note. At. A. Time.

But even without that … these kids are just miles beyond me.

I surrender.