This Story Hijacked How We Practice Music 🪄

I remember when fantasy books used to feel like magic...

Not just because they simply had magic in them...

But because the magic could happen to anyone.

Some ordinary human being would stumble across a dusty old book, or a rusty ring, or some strange glowing key tucked behind a library shelf...

And by the end of chapter three, they’d be speaking spells in languages they couldn’t pronounce two pages ago :)

They weren’t born special.

They became special...

Because they were curious.

Because they paid attention.

Because they were willing to try (or had to try, so they could save the world from evil forces or total destruction or something).

But somewhere along the way, something changed...

Suddenly, every new story seemed to revolve around The Chosen One™.

You weren’t powerful because you did anything:

You were powerful because of some ancient prophecy or secret lineage or sparkly birthmark.

And if you didn’t have it?

Well… tough luck.

And the wild thing is... that narrative didn’t just hijack our stories.

It hijacked how we see ourselves.

Especially in music.

Somewhere along the line, we decided that effort was embarrassing.

That struggling was shameful.

That if it didn’t come naturally — quickly, effortlessly — then you probably just weren’t meant to do it.

Maybe you should’ve started younger and now you missed the boat...

Or someone else was “born with it” and you were not.

And the industry fed it to us on a silver platter...

You know what I'm talking about:

Young prodigies on talent shows.

Three-year-old violinists with flawless technique.

The endless obsession with “giftedness”.

But most of those stories are just PR.

Because the real magic is messy and slow.

It’s deeply uncool while you’re in it.

But if you keep at it, one day, you’ll look back and realise…

You didn’t need to be chosen.

You just needed to choose.

So if you’re sitting with your instrument today feeling like it’s too hard...

Like maybe you’re not cut out for this...

Like the people around you just get it more easily...

Let this be your reminder:

You are not behind.

You are not missing anything.

You’re just doing the work.

And that’s exactly what greatness looks like in real life.

With warmth and music,

Gökçe 💙