# We Cannot Know in Advance How a Single Practice Session Will Affect a Child

Written after Keigo Higashino's passing, this is a reflection on the music story he told.

On July 27, 2026, the news of Keigo Higashino's death was announced.

He had passed away on July 23, aged 68.

![Breaking news: Japanese author Keigo Higashino has died](https://static.lianmuse.com/image/blog/8d760f6943b8e86058f1211ecf80975a.jpg)

For many Chinese readers, Keigo Higashino is more than a name on a bookshelf.

He wrote of the long darkness in *Under the Midnight Sun*, the quiet, weighty choices in *The Devotion of Suspect X*, and a shop that could receive letters from the past in *The Miracles of the Namiya General Store*.

Many people remember the mysteries in his books.

But today, I want to tell you about a music story he wrote.

It is about a musician who never became a star, never lived to hear the applause, and never even saw the future of his own work.

The story also brings us back to a question that many families whose children study an instrument have asked:

If my child will not become a professional musician, does the time spent practicing now still mean anything?

This article contains spoilers for *The Miracles of the Namiya General Store*.

## 01 / A Musician Who Did Not Know Whether He Had Talent

In *The Miracles of the Namiya General Store*, there is a young man named Katsuro Matsuoka.

His family runs a fish shop. They want him to come home and take over the business, but he wants to become a professional musician.

When his dream first takes shape, everything seems full of possibility.

But years pass, and the opportunities Katsuro imagined do not arrive.

No record company takes an interest in him. His audience does not grow. He has no achievements that could prove he made the right choice.

Meanwhile, his father's health deteriorates, and the family fish shop needs someone to take over.

The choice before him is not a simple matter of “dreams versus reality.”

Going home does not mean he is a coward.

Continuing to make music is not inherently nobler than taking responsibility for his family, either.

![](https://static.lianmuse.com/image/blog/d1575a1c0ff3ed293aa3a000a9870962.png)

(A still from the film *The Miracles of the Namiya General Store*: the dilemma between making a living and pursuing a dream.)

What truly torments Katsuro is another question:

What if he really has no musical talent?

If he is simply missing an opportunity, perhaps a few more years of persistence would be worthwhile.

But if he has no talent at all, have all those years of effort been nothing more than stubbornness? Would continuing make his family pay an even higher price?

Katsuro writes his worries in a letter and sends it to the Namiya General Store.

He wants an answer: should he go home, or keep making music?

But with life's hardest questions, there is often no one who can know the outcome for us in advance.

## 02 / He Never Became a Star, but His Song Reached the Future

Katsuro later writes a song.

It does not make him famous overnight or put him on a stage watched by thousands.

On one occasion, he performs at a children's home.

In the audience, a girl listens closely and remembers his melody.

![](https://static.lianmuse.com/image/blog/5308457325ab392a0ca2804137cce560.png)

(A still from the film *The Miracles of the Namiya General Store*: performing at the children's home.)

Later, a fire breaks out at the home. Katsuro loses his life while rescuing someone.

He does not live to become a professional singer or hear the applause.

But his music does not disappear with him.

The girl who once heard him sing grows up to become a singer and carries his melody further into the world.

Katsuro's music does not change his own fate, but it becomes part of someone else's life.

He never lives to hear the applause, but his song does.

![](https://static.lianmuse.com/image/blog/188d33c7373a6ab9b6fd768d3e387dd3.png)

(A still from the film *The Miracles of the Namiya General Store*: the little girl holds the music in her heart.)

This is not a story in which “as long as you persist, your dream will come true.”

Katsuro does not become the person he originally wanted to be.

Nor does his persistence bring him success in the conventional sense.

Perhaps what makes the story so moving is this:

We cannot know in advance what effect the things we are doing now will have in the future.

## 03 / Practice, Too, Can Take a Long Time to Echo Back

The same is true when children learn an instrument.

Many families have gone through a stage like this:

Their child has practiced for a year and still plays wrong notes.

The teacher has explained the same intonation or rhythm problem, but the child forgets again at home.

Parents give reminders every day; the child puts things off every day. Before the playing improves, the atmosphere at home has already become tense.

Adults are used to judging whether something is worthwhile by its results:

What exam grade has the child reached? What place have they won? Are they clearly ahead of others? Could they become a professional musician someday?

But many of the effects of learning music do not immediately show up in certificates or scores.

Through repeated practice sessions that do not go smoothly, a child may gradually come to understand:

Not being able to do something well now does not mean they will never be able to do it well.

They may be learning to hear small differences, to break a large difficulty into smaller problems, and to begin again after feeling frustrated.

Or they may simply be keeping a melody in their memory.

Years later, when they hear that piece again, they may remember more than keys, strings, and a metronome. They may remember their childhood room, the family member sitting beside them, and the person they were when they practiced so earnestly.

We often mistake “no results yet” for “this has had no effect.”

But when a seed is buried in the soil, we cannot see what is happening to it, either.

![](https://static.lianmuse.com/image/blog/727c8694e4477b6c4c7c3ef4bbeea2bf.png)

(A still from the film *The Miracles of the Namiya General Store*.)

## 04 / More Important Than Judging Talent Is Protecting a Child's Relationship with Music

When results are not visible, parents can easily become anxious.

“You've been learning for so long. Why are you still making mistakes?”

“Look how far everyone else has got. Why are you still stuck here?”

“If you aren't going to take it seriously, why did you start learning in the first place?”

These words do not necessarily mean that parents do not love their children.

Often, it is precisely because we have invested time, energy, and money

that we want so badly to know it has not all been wasted.

But a child may hear a different message:

If I cannot prove I have talent, I do not deserve to keep learning.

It is hard to reach a sound conclusion about a child's musical talent based on how quickly they progress over a short period or on a few stage performances.

Instead of repeatedly asking “Does my child actually have talent?”, we can first look at more specific questions:

- Do they dislike music altogether, or are they simply afraid they will not master what they are practicing?
- Are they deliberately putting things off, or do they not know where to begin today?
- Is the task so large that, as soon as they sit down at the piano, they feel unable to do it?
- During practice, do they hear more concrete help, or more judgments about their ability?

Sometimes, what a child needs is not another reminder to “keep going,” but a small step they can actually take.

The next time a difficulty arises, try replacing:

“Why did you get it wrong again?”

with:

“Let's first find the hardest part of this measure.”

Replace:

“You have to master the whole piece today.”

with:

“Let's use the Violy app to practice this measure slowly, in smaller sections first.”

Replace:

“You just aren't taking this seriously.”

with:

“Shall we lower the assessment difficulty in the Violy app a little?”

> Translator's note: These app-related suggestions reflect the original China article's wording and product context at its source date; they are not a statement that every current Global version offers the same settings.

These words cannot solve every problem immediately.

But they can help a child understand that difficulties can be noticed, broken down, and worked through, rather than treated as proof that “I can't do it.”

![](https://static.lianmuse.com/image/blog/5104c5873220658c617a2f99a9491e65.png)

(A still from the film *The Miracles of the Namiya General Store*: the little girl encourages Katsuro not to give up easily.)

## 05 / Persistence Does Not Mean Having to Become a Professional

Of course, this does not mean that once a child starts learning an instrument, they must keep going to the very end.

Persistence is not always the right choice in itself.

If a child remains unhappy for a long time, if the practice approach never suits them,

or if music has become nothing but conflict, adults need to stop and reconsider:

Are the goals too demanding, or does the method need adjusting?

Does the child dislike music, or do they temporarily dislike the way they are learning it?

Should we keep moving forward, or reduce the intensity, try a different piece, change how we communicate, or even allow a pause?

A child can choose not to become a professional and still find lasting companionship in music.

They may never win a competition, yet learn through practice how to face a problem they cannot solve right away.

They may also discover, after making a serious attempt, that their true passion lies elsewhere.

Changing direction does not mean everything that came before was wasted.

What we need to avoid is closing a door for a child too early simply because of one failure, a plateau, or a remark that they “may have no talent.”

(The benefits music brings children can stay with them throughout their lives.)

## 06 / We Also Do Not Know Where Today's Support Will Lead

In *The Miracles of the Namiya General Store*, Katsuro Matsuoka does not know where his song eventually goes.

In real life, a teacher may never know which of their words a student will remember.

A parent, too, cannot know in advance:

Which moment of holding back criticism will protect a child's newly emerging confidence;

which time spent helping them break down a difficulty will make them less afraid of failure later;

or which concert or piece of music will return to their life many years from now.

We cannot guarantee that every child who studies an instrument will reach a bigger stage.

Nor can we use the distant promise that “you'll thank me someday” to demand that a child endure every unsuitable pressure today.

What we can do is take a little more care in the present:

Help children find where they are truly stuck, make the task more specific,

offer one less judgment and one more moment of understanding.

As for what effect these small things will have in the future, we may never fully know.

Just as a song's life does not belong only to the person who wrote it,

the meaning of a serious practice session does not lie only in how many notes were played correctly today.

Keigo Higashino has passed away.

But new readers will still open his books and, at different stages of life, hear different answers in the same story.

And the musician who never lived to hear the applause still reminds us:

Some efforts do not blossom right away.

Some melodies must travel through a long stretch of time before someone else hears them.

We cannot hear the echoes of every practice session.

But that does not mean they will not sound in the future.

![](https://static.lianmuse.com/image/blog/9f2af68011ab5eb120c14f136370073a.png)

(A still from the film *The Miracles of the Namiya General Store*.)

## AD / About Violy

In its China-market introduction at the time of the original article, the Violy app was described as having been available for ten years and as a world-leading music practice app. The introduction said that it used AI to recognize the sound of bowed string instruments and piano, provide timely corrections during each practice session, and improve practice efficiency. It invited readers in China to search for “一起练琴” in app marketplaces to download and try it.

[Original Chinese article](http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzUxMjU5ODMyMg==&mid=2247507621&idx=1&sn=f4fa4fb76d7c3f74bcca13f463f4ac05&chksm=f96096f8ce171fee47504ce7c2e61ecee7d3eb2f46e7d78077453d50cfbbae5f035e27a05b3d#rd)