My own flute teacher encourages me to master new techniques slowly, advising me to concentrate on the evenness of my double-tonguing, on the purity of my vibrato, on the control of my fingers. W. A. Mathieu, in The Listening Book: Discovering Your Own Music, says, "You cannot achieve speed by speedy practice. The only way to get fast is to be deep, wide awake, and slow. When you habitually zip through your music, your ears are crystallizing in sloppiness." The instruction I most often give my students is, "Play that again, a little slower." Incorrect notes, miscounted rhythms, and poor tone quality are often cured with that one simple remedy.

Mathieu suggests, "Pray.....for release from zealous celerity. Pray for the patience of a stonecutter. Pray to understand that speed is one of those things you have to give up - like love - before it comes flying to you through the back window."

I am praying and progressing slowly with more patience, more compassion for my difficulties, more acceptance of my limitations. Just yesterday, my teacher assigned an especially large amount for me to practice. I said, "I'd rather do one movement carefully than the whole sonata hurriedly. I'm not going anywhere, and the sonata isn't either! And, because I'm not a university student, I don't have to finish it by the end of the semester." Thank you, Cindy.

Cindy may never be an accomplished flutist, but she'll probably play it until she is ninety and enjoy every minute. Her music will bring joy to her life, comfort to her heart, and peace to her soul. And that's what it's all about, anyway.

Cindy's real name has been changed to protect her privacy.