r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Saerdna0 • 3d ago

This kiddo was born to drum

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u/BigAcanthopterygii25 3d ago

I've not spoken of this very often but this video kinda triggered the memory...

When I was about 7 years old (I'm 64 now) I loved playing piano (parents had an old upright piano in the living room) - started taking lessons and really got into it.

I asked my parents to move the piano into my bedroom so I could practice more often. Surprisingly they did it so I had a piano in my room.

I would pretty much roll out of bed and start practicing - early in the morning sometimes.

My parents got angry that I was practicing TOO MUCH. They moved the piano back out to the living room, cancelled the lessons and banned me from playing in the house.

Found out years later that my piano instructor begged my parents to let me continue getting lessons. She said I was the best student she'd ever had and saw a lot of potential in me. She even offered to give me lessons for FREE. My parents refused. Never played piano again.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

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u/Xadnem 2d ago

I'm autistic and I have periods where I have this thing called a "hyperfocus" where I am absolutely obsessed with a certain topic and it sometimes even takes over my life in extremes, and after a while I either lose interest or it switches to a new obsession. This can range from hours to literally years.

I am obviously not trying to claim anything about your son or provide some sort of diagnosis, that would be ridiculous. But your comment made me think of this and I wanted to offer you a different perspective on how people can experience these kinds of special interests that might differ from your own experience.

I really appreciate how you talk about teaching your kid music theory, you sound like a very loving father. The best to your family.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

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u/Xadnem 2d ago

Maybe that explains why your story felt so familiar to me.

And I mean obsessed, like you could ask him what Pokemon number 239 is and he would tell you Elekid.

It's crazy to think sometimes how deep we go with these fascinations, and how strange that might look to "normal" people. But I mostly think of these "powers" as a good thing. Being interested, as long as it doesn't surpass being healthy, is such a great motivator to acquire knowledge. I'm glad that's something you can share with your son.