I can do it, so why can’t he?

My lovely husband has a fantastic auditory memory so he easily remembers what he hears.

That explains the continual stream of Shakespeare quotes, Edward Lear poetry, the lyrics of any song he’s ever heard and the entire repertoire of Monty Python.

Maybe you know someone like that?

Me, on the other hand – I don’t even listen to lyrics! I’m also an auditory person but I listen to the base line and harmonic structure. Having done this for as long as I can remember, I can reproduce all but the most complicated music on the piano after one or two listenings.

Neat trick if I say so myself! 

But I have no idea of, nor any interest in the lyrics. This also explains why, though I’m good at writing music, I’m rubbish at the words! Unless you consider, “Yeah, yeah, baby, yeah” inspired! (Anyway -that’s how most pop songs go, isn’t it?)

Isn’t it interesting how each of us has different talents according to the different ways we process information?

So, back to Nige - and I must point out – he’s an intelligent bloke. Sometimes I have to remind myself! Because - while he’s great at remembering what he’s heard, he can’t follow auditory instructions for a toffee!

You can send him off to get something from the kitchen and he’s halfway up the stairs to the bedroom before you realise he’s done it again!

And it seems so weird - I can do it, so why can’t he?

Isn’t it true, that we expect other people to be the same as us? And isn’t it true that we can be short-tempered with other people when they don’t seem to ‘get’ something that’s easy for us to understand?

Who do you know who struggles with something that you could do as easily as falling off a log?