Music Recital

As badly as I play the piano I’m pretty sure that it’s a lot better than not playing at all. I have been trying to get back into music after months of having a living arrangement with my piano like a bad marriage. I would barely acknowledge the massive carcass taking up the middle of my apartment.
“Would it kill you lose some weight? You’re always in the way.”
“Shut up. You don’t own me.”
Which is true because I rent my piano.

I decide finally to bridge the gap so I sit down at the piano and make my way through a familiar piece. It doesn’t sound too bad so I keep playing. It doesn’t take me too long to sound bad but I keep plowing through my old repertoire. It kills me that I once spent so much time learning a Mozart sonata only to lose it through laziness and neglect. It doesn’t take much time to bring a particular piece back into the fold. I would imagine that good musicians make their way through their entire song book every chance they get.

The biggest challenge for me in learning the piano is keeping it fun and interesting. I easily get bored if I hammer away at the same pieces over and over. It also helps to play with other people which I do only occasionally. I love having people over and taking turns plinking out tunes on the piano. This was the reason I began playing piano; I was looking to have a direct relationship with music instead of settling for a passive role as simply a listener. I wanted something more than the virtual nature of recorded music.

Ever since I began playing the piano some years ago I developed an immediate appreciation for musicians. When I hear someone play a song about all I can think about is how much time and effort they must have spent to master their instrument to such a degree that they can play through a piece faultlessly.

I played a bit of a song I am working on over the phone for a friend of mine the other day and she thought that it was lovely. Imagine that, something I played was enjoyed by another person. I vow to polish enough of the things that I play so that I can play them in front of other people without completely embarrassing myself.