(1) pick up instrument; (2) play poorly on purpose; (3) now that your worst fear is already realized, move on and enjoy it:-)
Alternatively, give up. No, not the instrument! Rather, the unrealistic expectation that despite zero practice for a long period of time that the level of ability would somehow remain the same. But it will be re-learned, much more quickly than the first time.
A teacher told us what he thought was a funny story about his wife, who was on track to julliard or something playing piano as a kid, and then he bought her a nice piano when they were married and she discovered she couldn’t play anymore and basically never played again --they’re in their 60s now. I just felt so awful for her. You need good friends to help you over something like that.
When I was 13, I decided I wanted to learn piano because I heard Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and became obsessed with it. I already knew how to read sheet music from performing in choirs since the 3rd grade, so I just had to figure out where middle-C was on the piano and pluck out the rest of the keys from there. It only took me 2 weeks to completely decipher and memorize the Moonlight Sonata, without any instruction or lessons.
I was a natural at the piano, and I taught myself more complicated pieces over the next handful of years. My wife is super jealous of my skill because she had to take 4 years of piano lessons for her music college degree, and I, without any formal lessons, can play better than her.
Fast-forward a few decades. I haven’t been around pianos for so long, I’ve forgotten most everything I learned. I just bought a fancy electric piano at an estate sale (normally costs $5,000; family was willing to sell it for $240!) and I’m excited to play again, but I’ve been afraid to just sit down and figure out where my skill level is at now. Gonna be a lot of hard work just to get back into it. And I’m old now, so I’m hardly the impressive “teen piano genius” I used to be. Now I’m just an old guy who might remember how to pick at a few simple songs on the piano.
Getting old sucks. Especially if you don’t keep up your skills. You’re special if you have great skills as a kid. But if you’re old, people just assume you’ve had a lifetime of practice. And that’s if you kept up with it over the years.
I’m this way with sex. I haven’t had sex in six years, and I haven’t had decent sex in like fifteen.
I used to be so sexually confident. Now I avoid it because I’m scared of being shamed for sucking at it.
Yeesh, don’t remind me it’s been nearly half a decade since I lost my instrument and would be super rusty if I tried playing again…