@Mouse I get your gist and am envious of those who can improvise and personalize tunes on a newly picked up instrument. 

I, for sure, have neither the musical gene nor the background to do so... so busy getting all my body parts in the right spot at the right time to actually "feel" the music. My strategy (may need some adjusting to start producing actual music) is to get the meat and potatoes down first... yes, as written on that prosaic Suzuki page. I hope this will liberate some capacity for feeling the music... how it breathes, undulates and communicates, down the road.

In the meantime - I'm one of the many who are learning music just because it makes them happy. That "happy" for me included getting what's on the page correct enough to muddle through at rehearsals with 70 other much better musicians once a week. You can imagine how non-uppity these guys are if they let me play along. Just wanted to share that some classically trained musicians are more chill... especially in non-competitive, community orchestras. Of course, I'm talking about folks who are mostly retired and largely out of the rat race of vying for orchestra seats. When I ask them why they play for free with a group of 80% amateurs, they mention enjoying the low key, low stress environment but also the thrill of sharing what they know with the kids and returners involved. 

To wind down this rambling, I suspect that, even within the constraints of classical orchestra playing, there's plenty of room for interpretation. The better the technical skills of a players, the broader the opportunities to interpret. I think trad fiddle and classical violin have this in common.

Shane "Chicken" Wang said

When I play it's like putting together a Christmas bicycle, I usually have extra parts, and some of them end up in the wrong place.  

Question is, does it roll when you're done?