One Note at a Time

One Note at a Time

I started playing piano when I was six. I remember my mother asking me if I wanted to play an instrument, and back then piano was the only instrument I had heard of, so of course I chose it. When I had my first lesson I thought it was going to be easy, with my hands magically knowing the keys and I would play a whole song just like that, but no, that was not the case.

After a few weeks, I thought I had made a mistake choosing the piano. Instead of making music I had to learn notes, scales and chords which seemed unrelated to a song. This wasn’t how I imagined it to be, and it wasn’t any fun. This wasn’t music, this was something else. Where was the music? Where was the beautiful singing? Later I realized that these building blocks formed music.

Throughout my journey, the hardest part was probably when I was competing in my first piano festival. I practiced long and hard, and I got sick of the piece. When the day finally came, I was so nervous, my hands shook. Looking back, I realized I didn’t have to be so nervous. Playing piano was not for winning the competition, it was for having fun and expressing yourself.

Sometimes I hated the piano because of the hours of practicing, my fingers getting tired, my brain getting tired, and my whole body wanting to collapse. I wished I didn’t have to practice, but there are so many challenges in playing the piano: having the skill to have your hands play different things, memorizing pieces, articulation of notes, and playing without making a mistake. I know that practice does make perfect. Without practice you can’t get better, and you can’t finish. If you do practice, you can succeed, and you can achieve. All of these challenges have to be overcome to become a pianist. Though it is challenging, the truth is, life is hard, nothing is easy unless you practice.

Now that I’ve been playing for more than six years, I’ve realized my passion for piano. Though I do sometimes dislike practicing, piano is a part of my life and I can’t just give it up now. While I’m playing I can express my feelings, sad or happy. It gives me a way into another world. In everything I do, not just piano, I use this lesson I’ve learned, to not give up when something is hard, to keep going, and to keep practicing.

Music To My Ears

I have been playing piano since I was in second grade. It has always been an important part of my life. Whenever I need a distraction, or something to wrap my mind around, I start practicing or listening to some kind of music. Sometimes, I like to improvise, which means making it up on your own. 

Fiery Piano Performance

Listening to music is also an important part of my life. I love a good dub-step beat or a catchy pop song. That always makes me happy and helps me focus on whats important in life. Stress relieving! Sometimes I just like to fiddle around on Garageband and make up a jingle. Music also helps me make connections. If I hear a sound that coincides with a word or phrase I tend to remember it better. This is called musical learning.

My piano teacher, Alena, lives just a few minutes from Catlin. When I walk in and take my shoes off, I'm excited to get to work on my pieces and maybe start a new one. Playing keeps me motivated to keep moving.

On top of lessons once a week, and practice at least 4-5 times a week, I am competing in Science Olympiad and playing basketball for Catlin. It may seem like I am overworking myself, or ignoring school work, but I actually manage fine. This is because I believe that if I do a little of everything, but keep focused on my main goals, I'll do fine. I may have basketball practice one night, but then I'll work on homework and if I have time I'll also practice piano.

Sometimes, performing can be difficult. I have performance classes every month or so, which let me practice in front of others. It can be hard to play fluidly, sometimes I start over thinking what I'm doing, like when I perform in drama class. We all have our "pet peeves". 

Ludwig Van Beethoven

I have learned a lot while playing piano. I know the time periods, composers, chords, and things like grace notes and crescendos which add to the richness of the music. But also, music has helped me learn about history too. Since my piano teacher is from Belarus, I have learned a lot about European history and the culture there. I have also learned about the composers themselves, some of whom have had very interesting lives. 

Piano and music relate to Revolutions! which I am studying in school. Music is related to the Industrial Revolution because production of pianos and other instruments became more mechanized, but it is to this day still considered an art. Music and other arts were also parts of other revolutions because people were expressing their thoughts and they feeling of the moment. Many poems and pieces were written by people during the French Revolution and Civil War. These are interesting ways to learn about how people felt at the time.

On the topic of learning, my family is donating our old piano to The Snowman Foundation. This charity accepts money and pianos for families and students. They believe that everyone deserves a chance to play and learn piano.

Though it can challenge me, music is still an escape. It lets me bring back sounds that were written in ink pen on paper hundreds of years ago and play them today.

Image Sources:

http://www.pinktentacle.com/images/burning_piano.jpg
http://moonlight-sonata-sheet-music.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/tumblr_m87zhyVLb81rql8omo1_cover.png-300x300.jpg
http://www.monsterworking.com/wp-content/uploads/music.jpg