(no subject)
The April 8th edition of TNY'er had an essay by Mr. Denk about piano lessons.
Pianos. Pee-in-yours, Pyango's. Pianofortes for days.
First piano ever met: the massive, ornately-carved edifice in the dining room of my great-great aunt's farmhouse in the 'Donia. The keys were ivory, half of them long-since vanished. The sound board was cracked, the strings rusted; it sounded the banshee when I furtively slammed my hands on it. Just after high school, I would find the missing ivory key tops in a plastic baggy, buried in a box in the basement.
First attempt at playing a song: attempting to pluck the melody of a song from the CRC Psalter hymnal, on the piano in my fourth grade classroom at the Christian elementary school in 'Utton. Someone heard me, or saw me, leading to my eventual taking-up of lessons in seventh grade.
My piano teacher: Mrs. Van Solkema.
Years spent taking lessons: 1-1/2. After my mother died in 1994, my father discontinued the lessons.
First piano books purchased: a compilation of Beethoven sonatas and bagatelles, and simplified renditions of Duke Ellington songs.
First piano competition entered: the State Solo Ensemble competition at East Hood High School, my senior year. I had just turned nineteen, and my ambition was to learn Rachmaninov's Prelude in C-Minor, which he composed at the same age. On a scale of 1-4, I was given a 2; my pedaling was muddy, my arpeggios far-too staccato. I was complimented, however, by the judges on my attempt. For not having had lessons in 4 years, for being self-taught . . .
First concerto attempted: George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," which is in the concerto/sonata format. I learned a solo rendition of the piece and frequently played excerpts of it for classmates and teachers, and at special school functions.
First music composed: "The Chadwick Rag", figured out on the Macintosh Finale music program in the computer labs at school. I went on to write 20 other rags and aspired to compose a "Hungarian Concerto" in the style of Listz and Rach.
First piano pleasure: teaching some fellow piano students at Wheaton College how to improvise off of classical music. I sat down with some Bach preludes, a Chopin waltz, and "Onward Christian Soldiers", and created my own jazz-style improvisations with the professor. I then played "In Your Own Sweet Way" by Dave Brubeck.
Pianists I have seen and loved: Marian McPartland, Herbie Hancock, Emmanuel Axe, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, and Danilo Perez.
First musical tragedy: the house fire in 2003, started by my father's girlfriend and her sister in a vengeful, drug-fueled rage, that gutted the building. While my room was unscathed by the fire, in the subsequent years I lost my clarinet, bassoon, the 2 playable pianos that were in the house, and the box of my composed sheet music, along with 30+ books of music I had bought from dealers over the years. All I have left are three rags by William Bolcom, "The Well-Tempered Clavier" by Bach, Kabalevsky's "Preludes", and an Armenian Christian Reformed Church hymn book.
First musical dream: to have a Steinway baby grand piano, in a house surrounded by fields of iris, where I can compose and create music without having to worry about food, clothing, or shelter. The only person I ever told the dream to was my high school band director, Mr. Thomas Peck.
Pianos. Pee-in-yours, Pyango's. Pianofortes for days.
First piano ever met: the massive, ornately-carved edifice in the dining room of my great-great aunt's farmhouse in the 'Donia. The keys were ivory, half of them long-since vanished. The sound board was cracked, the strings rusted; it sounded the banshee when I furtively slammed my hands on it. Just after high school, I would find the missing ivory key tops in a plastic baggy, buried in a box in the basement.
First attempt at playing a song: attempting to pluck the melody of a song from the CRC Psalter hymnal, on the piano in my fourth grade classroom at the Christian elementary school in 'Utton. Someone heard me, or saw me, leading to my eventual taking-up of lessons in seventh grade.
My piano teacher: Mrs. Van Solkema.
Years spent taking lessons: 1-1/2. After my mother died in 1994, my father discontinued the lessons.
First piano books purchased: a compilation of Beethoven sonatas and bagatelles, and simplified renditions of Duke Ellington songs.
First piano competition entered: the State Solo Ensemble competition at East Hood High School, my senior year. I had just turned nineteen, and my ambition was to learn Rachmaninov's Prelude in C-Minor, which he composed at the same age. On a scale of 1-4, I was given a 2; my pedaling was muddy, my arpeggios far-too staccato. I was complimented, however, by the judges on my attempt. For not having had lessons in 4 years, for being self-taught . . .
First concerto attempted: George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," which is in the concerto/sonata format. I learned a solo rendition of the piece and frequently played excerpts of it for classmates and teachers, and at special school functions.
First music composed: "The Chadwick Rag", figured out on the Macintosh Finale music program in the computer labs at school. I went on to write 20 other rags and aspired to compose a "Hungarian Concerto" in the style of Listz and Rach.
First piano pleasure: teaching some fellow piano students at Wheaton College how to improvise off of classical music. I sat down with some Bach preludes, a Chopin waltz, and "Onward Christian Soldiers", and created my own jazz-style improvisations with the professor. I then played "In Your Own Sweet Way" by Dave Brubeck.
Pianists I have seen and loved: Marian McPartland, Herbie Hancock, Emmanuel Axe, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, and Danilo Perez.
First musical tragedy: the house fire in 2003, started by my father's girlfriend and her sister in a vengeful, drug-fueled rage, that gutted the building. While my room was unscathed by the fire, in the subsequent years I lost my clarinet, bassoon, the 2 playable pianos that were in the house, and the box of my composed sheet music, along with 30+ books of music I had bought from dealers over the years. All I have left are three rags by William Bolcom, "The Well-Tempered Clavier" by Bach, Kabalevsky's "Preludes", and an Armenian Christian Reformed Church hymn book.
First musical dream: to have a Steinway baby grand piano, in a house surrounded by fields of iris, where I can compose and create music without having to worry about food, clothing, or shelter. The only person I ever told the dream to was my high school band director, Mr. Thomas Peck.