There is a problem I can think of in music that fits that cliche-- pianists who imitate the interpretation of others. There are some who are amazingly adept at

There is a problem I can think of in music that fits that cliche-- pianists who imitate the interpretation of others. There are some who are amazingly adept at imitation, and often the downside is a difficulty in coming up with their own interpretation. The problem I'm describing is different. By college I already had a set of skills that I made my own. I also already had an idea about how I wanted the music to sound. The problem was mainly that I had no idea that the skills I had already learned got me part of the way toward playing a melody with greater lyricism. Worse, I had no idea to what extent I could execute that better, or what it would feel like to execute it. It took a few years of trusting that someone wiser might know things I don't to put those things together.