6d • 🌿 Daily Reflection.
Lesson 11 – The Notes Are Neutral. My Thinking Gives Them Meaning.
One of the biggest breakthroughs I've had as a musician is realising that the notes themselves don't judge me.
They never have.
A note isn't born carrying the labels right, wrong, good or bad.
Those labels come from us.
Every note is simply information.
It tells us where our attention was in that moment.
Nothing more.
The challenge is that our minds often attach a story to what we've just played.
"I always mess that part up."
"I'm not improving."
"That sounded terrible."
Then something interesting happens.
Instead of listening to the music...
...we start listening to the story.
Have you ever noticed that you can play an entire piece beautifully, yet spend the rest of the day thinking about the one note that wasn't exactly how you wanted it?
Did the audience notice?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
But your mind certainly did.
It had already decided what it wanted to find.
This is one of the reasons I love the Easy Key.
It reminds me that music is built on relationships, not judgement.
Every note belongs somewhere.
Every note teaches us something.
When we stop labelling notes as successes or failures, we create space to actually hear what's happening instead of what we expect to happen.
That one shift changes everything.
Today's Reflection
I'd like you to try a simple experiment this week.
Record yourself playing a piece you've been practising.
Then don't listen to it.
Leave it for at least two days.
When you come back, watch or listen to the recording as though you're hearing a complete stranger.
Your job isn't to prove that you're a great musician.
Nor is it to prove that you're a bad one.
Your only task is to notice.
Listen with fresh ears.
Notice the moments you genuinely enjoy.
Notice the moments your mind immediately begins criticising.
Then ask yourself one simple question:
"Am I listening to the music... or am I listening to my thoughts about the music?"
You may discover that the criticism begins before you've even had time to hear what you've played.
You may notice the same familiar thoughts appearing every time you listen.
If that happens, don't try to stop them.
Simply observe them.
Perhaps you'll realise that these thoughts aren't actually coming from the music.
They're familiar patterns that have been repeated so often they now feel automatic.
Because you're no longer busy playing the instrument, you have the space to notice those thoughts instead of automatically believing them.
That shift is powerful.
You begin to realise you're not just listening to your music.
You're listening to your conditioning.
And once you see that...
...you can gently return your attention to what has always been there.
The music.
I'd love to hear what you discover.
After you've tried the exercise, come back and share your experience with the community. You might be surprised how many of us have been listening to our thoughts instead of our music.
Music really is medicine.
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Lesson 11 – The Notes Are Neutral. My Thinking Gives Them Meaning.
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