Really, brain? Really??

I've been a musician for the better part of 40 years, a piano teacher for more than 20 years, but never noticed before last week that those notes not flatted in D-flat Major are the ones sharped in D-major, and so forth in all major/minor scales.

Really, brain?  Really??  You couldn't have seen this, say, 40 years ago when I was first learning all these danged scales?  This would be like not seeing the difference between "d" and "b", or that the musical alphabet has 7 letters while the English alphabet has 26.  We're talking basic B-A-S-I-C music concept here.  And it's not because I don't like theory.  I LOVE theory.   Theory opens doors to understanding what the composer (standard literature) was trying to get across, the way his/her brain works, the absolute brilliance of breaking all those rules theorists love to use to corral creativity.

And while I'm on a rant, why would my technique be getting better at an age when arthritis starts to set in, joints stiffen, and muscle strength is on its way out?  It's backwards.  I should have had this kind of facility 30 years ago, during my younger years.  Doesn't make any sense.

There is no data proving that dyslexia messes with coordination, no data explaining why dyslexics miss things as obvious as the difference between "b" and "d", or a concept as simple as flat/sharp patterns in scales.  But I'm here to tell you that I am proof of the kind of exasperation these sorts of epiphamies cause.  And while piano may be great for coordination building and cross-brain training with dyslexic students, it lays bare the lack of coordination and cognitive disconnects dyslexics must suffer through, concepts and coordination that comes easily to non-dyslexic students.

When I'm teaching, I'm careful not to assume anything with my students.  Chord patterns, scalar patterns, sequencing, development/recaps, the list of pattern relationships is endless when working on repertoire, especially once students hit the standard literature.  I've watched students nail a technical section once I've helped them "see" patterns, group things into short segments that their brains latch onto, watch their fingers fly over the keyboard because they understand the underlying structure of what they're playing.  Memory comes more easily, too, because they're not just memorizing by rote or by ear, but by structure.

So why is it that I can see all these sophisticated chords and patterns, yet never before connected the frickin' flat/sharp patterns of major/minor scales?  It's not fair.  It's just frickin' NOT FAIR.

Normally I'm searching the dictionary to correct mis-spellings, make sure I haven't made up words before I post anything.  Today it doesn't seem to be worth the trouble.  Today I'm thinking I might as well look like the idiot I certainly feel like I am.  I wonder what basic concept my brain will choose to recognize tomorrow.