the perfect specimen of a musician......for me that is!



This young lady improved my playing overnight. I studied her and studied her. She's completely into the music. Enveloped by it. Saturated with it. And perfect posture, fingering, hand positions, movements, etc. I read her history. She's Classically trained and it appears she took her training seriously.

So how did it help me? I realized I've been getting very sloppy these last few years of hardly playing. And WHY are my hardly playing.......? Because.......I've been getting very sloppy.

So I sat down at the piano and tried putting everything I had into what I was playing. Every emotion I could muster up. Every feeling in every bone in my body. Wonder of Wonders!!! I became a "born-again musician." I remembered my forte was playing with feeling and if I wasn't doing that (like I used to years ago), I wasn't enjoying my music.

I took out three Strauss waltzes (Blue Danube, Emperor, Voices of Spring) and took my time playing them....stopping here.....breathing there...increasing/decreasing volume....octaves...closed chords/open chords, etc.

A whole new world for me all over again. I don't think I've ever enjoyed music this much now that I'm taking my time and thinking my way through a song.

And......is it satisfying.....getting everything out of you in musical expression.

We are the luckiest people on the planet. I said in another thread that the world has become rather impersonal lately. No one to bounce your emotions off of. And, as musicians, we have plenty of "emotions" to bounce.

Our instruments are like the old Timex watch commercials. They "take a licking and come back ticking." I wouldn't trade the ability to express myself through music for anything. Well, maybe I would for Lady GaGa's autograph!

Mark