On music and a bit of shameless plugging
Real life's been trying to kill me slowly, so I'll distract myself for a while. :P (Yes, it's around 3am where I am right now and I don't feel sleepy at all.)
First off, I'm now a co-moderator of G Clef no Arashi! It hasn't even been a year since I became part of the Arashi fandom, but when thefortysecond created this community I knew I had to become active somehow. Apart from its uniqueness from other Arashi-related LJ communities, it was something I was genuinely interested in visiting. Good thing she was looking for a co-moderator so I sent in an application right away. Thanks again for accepting me, 42! :)
Please join g_clef_no_arash! :D
But though the community has rekindled my interest in attempting to do piano covers of Arashi songs, it has also made me painfully aware of what I lack, at least musically.
When I was around 8 years old, my sister got a toy piano as a birthday present. It only had 2 or 3 octaves, and the black keys didn't even make the correct sounds. Still, we 3 siblings (me, my sister and our older brother) loved playing with it. Eventually, all the key pressing led to me and my brother being able to play "Happy Birthday" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" by ear. That was our first foray into music, so to speak.
Two years later, I decided to take piano lessons for the summer. I already knew how to read notes because we had music classes in school so reading score sheets wasn't too hard. As expected, I initially had difficulty playing with both hands but I got over that. I continued my formal piano studies for an additional 6 years until I decided to stop it altogether to focus on my academics. Now that I think about it, it's probably good that I stopped at that point.
In all those years I studied and practiced, I learned so much about the rudiments of music. Transposition, note values, the difference between three-four and three-eight, chords, tremolos, and what-else-have-you. I've played sonatinas, waltzes, and other classical pieces whose composers' names I can hardly pronounce, much more memorize. I had my share of recitals, as well as inter-music school competitions. One can say I've had a lot of experience, but there was one important thing which my piano teachers have failed to impart: feel the music. They were so focused on teaching how to properly play trills and triplets; everything was just so structured.
My sister often tells me that I lack emotion when I play music, and I actually agree with her. For one thing, I never learned how to properly apply crescendos and pianissimos, what more improvise a certain piece of music. It makes me think if I have to experience extreme joy or sadness to be able to "properly" play a piece. Even if I manage to memorize a certain song (i.e. Arashi's "Everything"), there's just something in the way I play which I'm not really happy with.
Also, I've always wanted to try playing songs by ear and notating them but I don't have that much skill as compared to my brother. (He's the one who got all the musically-related genes, really. He can play the guitar, the piano, and a bit of the drums. He never played the violin before, but when he borrowed one from a friend he was able to produce sounds properly after just a few tries.) I can only play and notate the basic melody at most; ask me to do the chords and/or the left hand part and I'll just give you a blank stare in return. Unfortunately, even if I had the time to practice I'd be disturbing the peace because I'd probably be on the piano even while everyone else has gone to bed.
I know I shouldn't take for granted the things that I am capable of, but oftentimes I feel that they're not enough.
First off, I'm now a co-moderator of G Clef no Arashi! It hasn't even been a year since I became part of the Arashi fandom, but when thefortysecond created this community I knew I had to become active somehow. Apart from its uniqueness from other Arashi-related LJ communities, it was something I was genuinely interested in visiting. Good thing she was looking for a co-moderator so I sent in an application right away. Thanks again for accepting me, 42! :)
Please join g_clef_no_arash! :D
But though the community has rekindled my interest in attempting to do piano covers of Arashi songs, it has also made me painfully aware of what I lack, at least musically.
When I was around 8 years old, my sister got a toy piano as a birthday present. It only had 2 or 3 octaves, and the black keys didn't even make the correct sounds. Still, we 3 siblings (me, my sister and our older brother) loved playing with it. Eventually, all the key pressing led to me and my brother being able to play "Happy Birthday" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" by ear. That was our first foray into music, so to speak.
Two years later, I decided to take piano lessons for the summer. I already knew how to read notes because we had music classes in school so reading score sheets wasn't too hard. As expected, I initially had difficulty playing with both hands but I got over that. I continued my formal piano studies for an additional 6 years until I decided to stop it altogether to focus on my academics. Now that I think about it, it's probably good that I stopped at that point.
In all those years I studied and practiced, I learned so much about the rudiments of music. Transposition, note values, the difference between three-four and three-eight, chords, tremolos, and what-else-have-you. I've played sonatinas, waltzes, and other classical pieces whose composers' names I can hardly pronounce, much more memorize. I had my share of recitals, as well as inter-music school competitions. One can say I've had a lot of experience, but there was one important thing which my piano teachers have failed to impart: feel the music. They were so focused on teaching how to properly play trills and triplets; everything was just so structured.
My sister often tells me that I lack emotion when I play music, and I actually agree with her. For one thing, I never learned how to properly apply crescendos and pianissimos, what more improvise a certain piece of music. It makes me think if I have to experience extreme joy or sadness to be able to "properly" play a piece. Even if I manage to memorize a certain song (i.e. Arashi's "Everything"), there's just something in the way I play which I'm not really happy with.
Also, I've always wanted to try playing songs by ear and notating them but I don't have that much skill as compared to my brother. (He's the one who got all the musically-related genes, really. He can play the guitar, the piano, and a bit of the drums. He never played the violin before, but when he borrowed one from a friend he was able to produce sounds properly after just a few tries.) I can only play and notate the basic melody at most; ask me to do the chords and/or the left hand part and I'll just give you a blank stare in return. Unfortunately, even if I had the time to practice I'd be disturbing the peace because I'd probably be on the piano even while everyone else has gone to bed.
I know I shouldn't take for granted the things that I am capable of, but oftentimes I feel that they're not enough.