Have you ever had to sneeze while driving?

It can be nerve-wracking, because sneezing is like a miniature blackout. I have yet to meet anyone who keeps their eyes open while they sneeze, and you lose other driving senses, too: Your “ACHOO” might drown out road sound, and your jerking head can alter your sense of yourself in space.

But you still have to keep driving, and so, for the duration of the sneeze, you make a road in your mind. Essentially, you construct a dynamic representation of what you saw before the sneeze took hold. You drive along that mental road even as you’re sneezing so that when the sneeze is done, you can continue on your way.

We do the same thing in music.

In fact, I love a good sneeze while playing, because it really lays bare whether or not we’ve achieved mastery of the musical landscape. Even as we take the instrument out of our mouths and (hopefully) cover our noses, we have to keep “playing” the piece in our heads, tracking the material and keeping the pulse, in order to keep from running off the musical road.

Chances are we won’t sneeze in every piece. But in every piece, there will come a moment when we look away, miscount, bobble a note, or otherwise lose focus. And when we do, we need to be able to imagine the road ahead– and keep driving.

Can you pass the musical sneeze test? If not, it’s definitely something to work toward.

GESUNDHEIT!