This morning I had the thought to start off with a little piano practice. I hadn’t thought about actively practicing in quite some time. I am fortunate, however, to have a full keyboard that I could hop over to and bang out some drills. This truly may be the new way I start my day.
My Musical Origin Story
My mom has a piano that was passed down from her father. I remember playing with it as a child and making some (probably) discordant note combinations. My mom had a collection of sheet music but I didn’t know how to read it at that time.
When I was in fourth grade my mom decided to pay for my older sister Marie to have piano lessons. I really, really, really wanted to take lessons, too, but my mom couldn’t afford to pay for both of us. She thought that if Marie learned, then she could teach me.
I was heartbroken that I would have to wait to learn but had to accept it. Not for terribly long, though. When my mom dropped Marie off for her lesson, I got to go, too. She had worked out something with the teacher for both of us to have lessons.
The Gift of a Great Teacher
Our piano teacher was an incredibly talented and patient college student who later became Miss South Carolina. I am grateful that I got to learn from her, but I wish I had had longer. When she stopped teaching (I think I was in ninth or tenth grade), she was just starting to guide us in writing our own music. I still have my manuscript notebook and some compositions and melodies I created.
Anyway, I loved playing the piano. I still love it, but the intensity was much more extreme when I was a kid and learning. I especially enjoyed playing fast songs and I essentially took over the piano. Marie learned as well, but I was on the piano daily.
I broke my left wrist in the sixth grade. Even with a cast limiting my wrist movement, I worked my way through the pain so that I could play. When I had the cast removed, I didn’t need therapy for that hand. I had already strengthened it back to normal.
Music as a Lifelong Thread
I once thought I might go to college for music. That changed somewhere in high school when I realized that I might like writing even more than piano.
I have played piano off and on over the years. I have performed for weddings, funerals, school events, church, etc. My first year of college, I played keyboard in the pit for our production of “Godspell.” Fun times.
When I moved out of my mom’s home in 1997, I found that I missed having a piano handy. I purchased my Roland ep-85 digital piano that year and started my own sheet music collection. I still have an anthology of alternative rock from that time. It’s awesome.
The Music Came With Me
When I left South Carolina in my early thirties, selling my belongings and only keeping what I could cram in my Honda Fit, my keyboard was something that I held onto. I could take apart the stand and I bought a case for it. I’ve had it all these years, diving back into playing at different times in my life.
A Return to Keys (of All Kinds)
Today seems to be the start of another cycle of getting back into it. Instead of starting the day at my computer keyboard, I made my way over to the piano, played through some drills, and then some songs I like. It was a lovely break in routine and a reminder of how much I still love music.
May we all continue to be called by our past, present, and future creative loves. 😊