"plunk, plunk"...what does this remind you of? perhaps dropping a stone into a pool of water, or flipping a penny into a fountain at the mall...orrrr.....katie playing the piano on an out-of-tune instrument? I believe the answer to the above is C, playing the piano.
I absolutely love to play the piano...it truly soothes the soul. I took lessons as a kid from a lady named Cindy Dameron...in my little-kid eyes, she was the most beautiful lady ever (she also taught my ballet & tap classes)...and had a way of teaching piano that made me want to do my absolute best, I still remember the pride of seeing those "A++" marks next to the titles of compositions i studied. When i stopped taking lessons, she was just starting to teach me how to play by ear. Fast forward a bit...to when i was in grade & high school. My piano playing improved, but I have always been shy of playing to an audience. I was always in awe of how brave my cousin Sarah was when she'd play the organ for church...in front of all those people!! what if she messed up?? (which she never seemed to...such talent!) i am not that brave girl...i preferred and was waaay more comfortable playing for just myself. My parents kept our piano in a spare bedroom in the back of the house, which suited me just fine. When i was feeling moody, misunderstood, or just wanted to be alone for a bit, i'd head back there & shut myself in with the piano. I probably sounded awful, but there was something very soothing about concentrating on learning to play the sheet music of my favorite songs ("Nadia's Theme", "Bridge Over Troubled Water"), or losing myself in the comfortableness of the songs i knew almost by heart ("Moonlight Sonata," "Fur Elise").
When in college I was delighted to discover the practice rooms hidden away in the music division's halls...little rooms each with their own beautifully tuned piano! It wasn't something i did often, but I did manage to find a couple of times when i had some free time to go and lose myself for awhile (and probably infuriate some poor music major by taking their practice time!!). When I started working at the lodge I was pleased to note that there was a piano in the great room...so I have taken to playing when there's nobody around (which is a very rare thing!). And have rediscovered what a stress reliever it really is...my repertoire is only like 4 songs, and i dont even really play those well...but i guess i need to start somewhere.
Until recently i was somewhat oblivious to how out of key the piano is...probably b/c i was so out of practice that the lack of skill masked any problems the piano may have had. However...as my skill comes back (dont be fooled, i still stink up the place...), so does my awareness of how much a "C" really sounds more like an Aflat or a watery, wavery G. I wonder how expensive it is to get a piano tuned....
2 comments:
LOL! I messed up so much, eventually it just stopped bothering me!
When we move to a bigger house, I can't wait to buy a piano.
Katie, I didn't know you could play the piano. Tom's old boss,who was about our age, was taking piano lessons, so you're never too old. I don't want to play myself, but I wish somebody in my house would.
Post a Comment