Music on the 4th of July

Last week didn’t start off terribly well.  I got down on myself, and it seemed like nothing could shake my mood.  Some friends we hadn’t seen for a few years dropped by for a visit, and instead of making intelligent and uplifting conversation, I’m afraid I spent more time talking about my disappointments than catching up with them. 

One of the things I got down on myself about was my piano playing.  It just seemed as if I had trouble finding the time to practice each day, and when I actually made the time, my fingers stumbled over the notes.  Here I was, playing classical music for beginners, and not only was I playing the pieces far too slowly, but I kept on making mistakes!

My mother and a friend stopped by for the 4^th of July holiday.  One of the first things my mother did was walk over to the piano and look at the music spread open above the keyboard.  She sucked in her breath.  “Ooh, that’s what you’re playing?”

The awe in her voice buoyed my spirits, as did her entreaties to play for her.  So I decided, since she and our friend were just there to relax and enjoy our time together, that I would take the time to really practice.  Not only would it entertain them, but it might also improve my playing.  I practiced the next morning far longer than normal, and again in the evening.  I concentrated on a section each of two Sonatinas, devoting extra time to troublesome areas, playing one-handed, and marking out notes too far above the treble clef to readily recognize.  My fingers moved more smoothly, and the number of wrong notes fell. 

Go on, now: turn that frown upside-down!

Of course, we did other things together, like going out for lunch, taking walks, playing card games, and watching the fireworks.  But the most fun I had was the piano playing.  I feel like I might have actually made some progress with those new sections, and now dare to hope that my fingers may regain more of my former dexterity.  Not only am I looking forward to practicing again each day, but my outlook on life in general has improved. 

If something is important to you, you must make it a priority, and devote the time necessary to pursue it properly.  At least, that’s a lesson I learned over the holiday weekend.  What did you learn?

Dragon Dave

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A Treasure from a Bygone Age

I’m not sure where it came from, but one time my grandfather got an old organ from someone.  He moved it inside the dining room, plugged it into the electrical outlet, and my grandmother, who played the organ at church, sat down to play.  But it didn’t work right, so he had to open it up and tinker with it.  Now my grandfather was usually great at tinkering with things, but I don’t think he ever got that organ to work properly.  I recall that he had trouble finding replacement parts, such as fuses and vacuum tubes, for it.  

The above organ comes from a simpler time.  Unlike my grandfather’s organ, I’m guessing it wouldn’t be reliant on parts made for a specific manufacturer.  So it could probably be restored more easily than the one my grandfather acquired.  I love the wood grain, the organ's shape and design, and the scrollwork for the book/sheet music holder.  I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone play a pump organ like this.  Given its exterior beauty, I wonder how it would sound.

I can’t imagine keeping one's concentration on the music, and playing the keyboard, while working at these pedals.  But a great musician, like a great artist, often does a lot more work than the audience ever sees.  We only see—or, as in this case, hear—the result, and often the resultant performance or finished piece is so simplified and streamlined that we think it was the work of a moment.  I’ve played the piano, and know how many hours of practice it takes to properly prepare for a performance.  I need to keep that in mind, when I tire of all the behind-the-scenes work (the outlining, the revising, the multiple drafts, the submission process) involved in the process of writing fiction. 

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links

More pictures of pump organs