When does an idea count as a brainwave?

I think, I have ideas, I try new things out.  Today’s prompt has me stumped.  A brainwave and a decision are not the same.  A brainwave may precede a decision.  I have an idea, then I decide whether or not it is a good one.

I had an idea when I turned forty to really take my piano playing seriously.  I had learned as a child and continued with lessons until I left school at eighteen.

As a student I had played for enjoyment, but I was not confident.  When I had a full-time job, I stopped playing almost completely.  I found that if I did not play at all for a couple of months the standard of my playing deteriorated so much that I was frustrated that I could not do better.  It was a sort of vicious circle.  The less I played, the less I enjoyed playing.

So at the age of forty I bought the music for the Grade 5 piano exam and some theory of music text books and practice papers.  I chose my pieces and studies and began to work on them.  I reached a point when I needed a teacher to help me with the listening test and to enter me for the exams.  The teacher I chose was very good and helped me a lot.  She taught me the difference between playing and performing.  She taught me to listen to my own playing – something I had never done.

However, after I had passed both exams she went to live abroad.  The next teacher I went to was not as good for me, although I did pass Grade 6 piano with her.  I stopped having lessons, but continued to be involved with musical activities, singing and playing recorders with various groups of people.

Now I enjoy playing the piano.  Previously I had a sort of love-hate relationship with the instrument.  I have learned to play some of my repertoire better than in my youth and added new pieces to it.

Perhaps it wasn’t exactly a brain-wave to take my playing more seriously, but it was a good idea!

What’s the best idea you’ve ever had? Regale us with every detail of the idea — the idea itself, where it came to you, and the problem it solved.

Perhaps a better post for a brainwave was the one for an earlier prompt.  A moment of clarity.

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