Black Dots

For classical musicians, I often talk about the music is just black dots on a page unless you can learn to see the patterns and deeper meaning behind them.

When I first started learning piano I just learned the notes on the page by sheer repetition. I didn't really think beyond just pushing the right piano keys down at the right time.

This kind of "muscle memory" learning is very fragile. The more ways you have of thinking about and understanding the music the more secure your memory and musicianship will be.