A Developer’s Journey Through Piano: Why It’s Okay to Be Clumsy
I’m currently on parental leave, taking a pause from my seven-year career as a developer. Of course, the biggest change in my life recently is welcoming a new family member, but another significant shift has been learning to play the piano. It’s something I’d thought about for a long time, and now it’s been about nine months since our baby arrived and six months since I started playing piano. Learning piano has given me new insights into my life and my career as a developer, and today I’d like to share one of those reflections with you.
One of the most interesting things about playing piano has been how the sensation of pressing the keys feels so similar to typing code. The main difference, of course, is that instead of seeing lines of code on a screen, I hear music. And while the music isn’t all that great just yet, I think many developers can understand the joy of creating something from scratch—even if it’s clumsy and imperfect at first.
This shared experience of typing led me to reflect on my journey as a developer. In fact, playing piano has taught me a lot about being comfortable with “clumsiness” and uncertainty, something I now realize I’ve tried to avoid over the years.
Relearning the piano as an adult after barely learning the basics as a child is challenging, to say the least. Despite how enjoyable it is, there’s nothing easy about reading sheet music or hitting the right keys. It’s often intense enough to give me a headache, and just one or two hours of practice can leave me feeling completely exhausted. Every week, I attend a lesson, and at times, it can be discouraging to notice that my progress isn’t immediately visible. There are days when I even feel reluctant to go.
However, sticking with daily practice, even when I wasn’t “getting it,” eventually helped me notice small but real progress. While a single hour might not have felt impactful, a few months’ worth of practice has shown me that effort and time do add up. After six months, I can finally see my skills developing at a steady pace.
This made me reflect on my work in development. After eight years in the field, I’ve become faster and more efficient at handling many tasks. While this has made my work smoother in many ways, it’s also introduced some challenges. When it comes time to learn something new or approach a task differently, the slow progress can feel almost painfully frustrating. It sometimes makes me feel as though I’m inadequate. Becoming so accustomed to my own “speed” has, in some ways, made it harder to tolerate a slower, clumsier version of myself. But, as my piano experience reminded me, there’s a certain process in learning that is inherently clumsy—and that’s perfectly normal. Growth happens over time, and if we aim to reach new levels, we must sometimes endure the uncomfortable and difficult parts of the journey.
I was reminded of a similar message in Changjoon Kim’s book Growing Together, which emphasizes that growth often requires approaching familiar tasks with a new mindset. Inspired by this, I’ve also tried to approach my work with fresh eyes, though it isn’t always easy to keep up that kind of practice in a busy environment. If anyone reading this has faced similar challenges, perhaps exploring a hobby or activity outside of work can help you engage with that “beginner’s mind” in a different setting.
For me, simply sharing my thoughts like this is a way of embodying this theme, even if expressing myself in this way still feels clumsy. Moving forward, I hope to embrace moments when I’m not at my best and use them as stepping stones to grow as a developer. Here’s to embracing clumsiness in pursuit of growth, both in work and beyond.
