Chopin's Etudes sits at his piano as he begins practicing. His fingers race through the familiar notes. He's played it hundreds of times, but this time he stops halfway through the twelfth measure.
It flickers for an instant. A moment of brilliance. A melody. A harmony. The perfect music dancing through his brain.
He scrambles to his feet! Frantically searching for a blank piece of sheet music and a pencil, he pushes papers aside, opens drawers, checks shelves until finally! He finds a half-used piece of sheet music and a pen. Sitting at the piano he begins to capture the masterpiece he always wanted to write. The pen touches the paper but nothing happens.
It doesn't come to him! The melody is gone! The chords are disjointed, no longer flowing. He stares at measure twelve. Plays measure twelve. Fast. Slow. Nothing! The magic is gone. The brilliance of the measure fades.
The light has flickered out.
He sets aside his paper and pen, pulls the bench to the piano, and resumes practicing.
