30-day song challenge - Day 1 - A song with a colour
I thought this would be fun because it's been a while since I've done any blogging memes!
"Black is the Colour of my True Love's Hair"
Now, we all know how much piano talent (not much, dude boy was better) and affection I had for the repertoire. Hated the Bach and 20th-century stuff. Sometimes liked the Beethoven, the romantic stuff, and the post-romantic stuff. But I didn't really connect to any of it. I don't know if it's because I just didn't have a real basis for enjoying or interpreting music, since my parents weren't big on music themselves, and I just got dunked in the RCM pool without getting to explore any other waters at all. Only heard other songs on the yellow school bus radio, at middle school dances, or in band class. Completed my Level 10 practical certs by the skin of my teeth, probably due to examiner pity.
But in addition to the big beige RCM repertoire books, I also remember a big hardback 1970 Reader's Digest Family Songbook that lived on top of the upright piano. It had a light green floral pattern on the cover and included such classics like "Shenandoah," "Blowin in the Wind," "Moon River," "Jalousie," "Greensleeves," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," and other selections from 'the canon.' In any case, they were a lot more accessible than frickin Bach. Most importantly, they were easy, and gave me opportunities to noodle around on the keyboard.
Anyways, one of my favourites from the green book was "Black is the Colour of my True Love's Hair." The arrangement was simple, the melody was pretty, and it was precisely the palate cleanser I needed after practising my exam repertoire.
I wish I'd pushed back on the teacher I had to learn the repertoire I thought was pretty rather than the ones she thought were easy. Probably would've ended up a better piano player if I'd cared about the songs I was learning.
This entry was originally posted at https://duinemerwen.dreamwidth.org/363379.html. Please comment there instead.
"Black is the Colour of my True Love's Hair"
Click to viewNow, we all know how much piano talent (not much, dude boy was better) and affection I had for the repertoire. Hated the Bach and 20th-century stuff. Sometimes liked the Beethoven, the romantic stuff, and the post-romantic stuff. But I didn't really connect to any of it. I don't know if it's because I just didn't have a real basis for enjoying or interpreting music, since my parents weren't big on music themselves, and I just got dunked in the RCM pool without getting to explore any other waters at all. Only heard other songs on the yellow school bus radio, at middle school dances, or in band class. Completed my Level 10 practical certs by the skin of my teeth, probably due to examiner pity.
But in addition to the big beige RCM repertoire books, I also remember a big hardback 1970 Reader's Digest Family Songbook that lived on top of the upright piano. It had a light green floral pattern on the cover and included such classics like "Shenandoah," "Blowin in the Wind," "Moon River," "Jalousie," "Greensleeves," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," and other selections from 'the canon.' In any case, they were a lot more accessible than frickin Bach. Most importantly, they were easy, and gave me opportunities to noodle around on the keyboard.
Anyways, one of my favourites from the green book was "Black is the Colour of my True Love's Hair." The arrangement was simple, the melody was pretty, and it was precisely the palate cleanser I needed after practising my exam repertoire.
I wish I'd pushed back on the teacher I had to learn the repertoire I thought was pretty rather than the ones she thought were easy. Probably would've ended up a better piano player if I'd cared about the songs I was learning.
This entry was originally posted at https://duinemerwen.dreamwidth.org/363379.html. Please comment there instead.