It's Sunday afternoon, and I just listened to "From the Top," a radio program on National Public Radio. I try to tune into the show every week because it features wonderful, classical musicians who are all the more exceptional because they are only 8 to 18 years old. I like the way the show's host, concert pianist Christopher O'Riley, interviews each performer, bringing out each player's individuality.
Today's program was particularly inspiring. Two of the performers, a violinist and a violist, spoke about their learning disabilities. They struggled in school and had difficulties visually processing the music but had become exceptional musicians nonetheless.
The show opened with a performance by 17-year-old Gordon Neidinger, a mandolin player who had a fascinating story to tell. When Hurricane Ike blasted through his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania almost four years ago, a tree fell on him. He broke his arm in six places and had to consider the possibility that he might never play the mandolin again. When his cast came off and he first tried to play his instrument, he realized that he had lost a lot of coordination. So he began practicing every day. He described how relearning to play the mandolin forced him to improve his technique. Today he's a better player for it.
This story really struck and encouraged me because I'm still recovering from a much less traumatic injury to my right arm - a broken radius bone. Since the injury, the two bones in my forearm, the radius and ulnar, are no longer the same relative length with respect to each other. This makes handwriting painful. So I'm learning a new way to hold a pencil with a lighter and better grip. I've also taught myself to write with my left hand. Although my left-handed penmanship is wobbly and child-like, it's legible and, to my surprise, I like writing this way. I am forced to write more slowly which also slows down my thoughts and relaxes me. As I write, I can almost hear my old schoolteacher telling me how to form the letters. Before I broke my arm, my handwriting had become pretty sloppy. Now, with my renewed attention to an old skill, my penmanship with both my left and right hand is improving.
It's not a good thing to get injured, but sometimes an injury can help us to break past habits and relearn old skills in a new and better way.