“All right, it’s time for dinner.” Tommy’s mother calls from down the hall in the kitchen. She sets the dishes on the counter and gives the air a quick sniff. Hmm, she thinks. “Tommy.” She sings, still Tommy doesn’t appear. So she decides to make her way down the hall to his bedroom. Tommy has his head lean against the piano while his little fingers are gently tapping the keys. “Well, aren’t you a little composer?” His mother says.
Tommy groans, indicative of wanting to be left alone. “Dinner’s ready.” His mother says. Tommy groans again. “Come on, honey,” his mother places a hand on his shoulder, “you can come back after dinner.”
Tommy’s groan grows louder. “This can’t be that hard.” He says. “It’s just notes!”
“Maybe you just need a break, free your eyes from those notes for a while. Then when you come back, I’m sure it’ll jog your mind.” Slowly, Tommy sighs, sits up, and slides off the piano bench. “There’s my little composer.” His mother smiles.
(165 words)
The same thing is actually happening to me. I look at the notes and would say, “It’s just notes!” but somehow, I can’t get my fingers to move to the notes.
This is a response for Roger Shipp’s new flash fiction challenge, Flash Fiction For the Purposeful Practitioner. We are given the beginning of the sentence and we are to finish the story.
This is Another Story 
The brain reaches a saturation point with piano practicing. When you get to that point where you can’t break through to the right progression or fingering you have to walk away to give your brain some catch up time. It will be easier the next time you approach the bench.
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I agree. I find I play the worst when I play too long. Sometimes, all we need is a break in order to get the groove on again.
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True story.
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I think when it comes to just about any creative skill that happens and you have to take a break to get your juices flowing again
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Absolutely.
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I can understand his persistence. When you really want to learn something sometimes you push yourself too far and end up making things worse. Leaving the task alone for a while often times rejuvenates you and makes things a lot easier to learn.
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I agree. Absolutely, everyone need sometime alone to rejuvenate.
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Poor Tommy. He just needs some energy and time away. Supper will help. Nice write 🙂
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Thanks and definitely, food will help.
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I had similar difficultly in regards to breathing when learning the Tenor Sax
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The struggle is real – I love how you wrote the mother to be so supportive, instead of annoyed – very supportive!
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Thanks. I drew from real life experience.
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The best teacher of all 😉 Bravo!
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Thanks.
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You are very welcome 🙂
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Great story. The mother’s support and love come through loud and clear.
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Thank you.
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