Ever since a child, I was forced to go to a musical school for children. We used to use wooden sticks as sorts of percussion instruments, singing and playing around to the beat of music. This all was to build my sense of rhythm and learn that music is not serious, nor must it be taken so. Soon, after moving to the group of the older children, we were given the kantele which is basically a plucked string instrument.
Learning to play that was a torture at the time, and I wanted to get out of the classes.
However, my parents did not let me stop going to the lessons (thank God for that!). I was simply transferred from one class to another. I soon found myself in front of a big black piano... I think it must have been of german make.
To state the obvious, this naturally led to me being obliged to learn to play piano. We had, and still have, an old black upright piano, with keys of ivory. Personally, I love elephants and oppose the ivory market, but this piano was very old already, and I was too young to understand anything about it.
Many years later, I chastise and rebuke myself for what I did to that innocent instrument; I was fond of metallic toy cars and I liked playing the piano with them. You can guess the rest. Whenever I see the piano and play it, I feel the powerful vibration and wave of pure sound the piano makes... as well as the beige and white keys and the dents at their ends. However, my almost blasphemous games did not hinder the pianos ability to create beauty. Now, the Old Piano is enjoying its well-earned retirement.
Unfortunately for me, the new class I attended was full of girls ("cooties!" I thought).
I felt lonely, as playing piano was not cool for boys. Real guys went for sports! Well, this was one of the reasons I was "playfully" bullied in school. Sadly, I was not able to make them shut up with my music, a feat which I would be more than able to do today. I "suffered" for a few months, every Tuesday and Thursday, until my pleas for a private tutor were heard. Her name must have been Paula, or something alike. Under her tutelage, I learned children's tunes and such songs I cannot recall. How I wish I had my present knowledge back then!
Learning to play that was a torture at the time, and I wanted to get out of the classes.
However, my parents did not let me stop going to the lessons (thank God for that!). I was simply transferred from one class to another. I soon found myself in front of a big black piano... I think it must have been of german make.
To state the obvious, this naturally led to me being obliged to learn to play piano. We had, and still have, an old black upright piano, with keys of ivory. Personally, I love elephants and oppose the ivory market, but this piano was very old already, and I was too young to understand anything about it.
Many years later, I chastise and rebuke myself for what I did to that innocent instrument; I was fond of metallic toy cars and I liked playing the piano with them. You can guess the rest. Whenever I see the piano and play it, I feel the powerful vibration and wave of pure sound the piano makes... as well as the beige and white keys and the dents at their ends. However, my almost blasphemous games did not hinder the pianos ability to create beauty. Now, the Old Piano is enjoying its well-earned retirement.
Unfortunately for me, the new class I attended was full of girls ("cooties!" I thought).
I felt lonely, as playing piano was not cool for boys. Real guys went for sports! Well, this was one of the reasons I was "playfully" bullied in school. Sadly, I was not able to make them shut up with my music, a feat which I would be more than able to do today. I "suffered" for a few months, every Tuesday and Thursday, until my pleas for a private tutor were heard. Her name must have been Paula, or something alike. Under her tutelage, I learned children's tunes and such songs I cannot recall. How I wish I had my present knowledge back then!
Concertos
One of the most thrilling, as well as dreaded things in my childhood, were the matinees. These small scale concertos were often features in my nightmares, and whenever the day came, I was sweating out of nervousness. My parents, grandparents and often my uncle or aunt came to hear me play something for about 2 minutes, sometimes 4 in case of errors, after which we all went back to ours, or to the grandparents, to celebrate my ever-growing skills. A big slice of Grandmas fruit cake helped to forget the "humiliation" I had experienced that day. Often the embarrassement stayed for several days on end.
There is one interesting detail about the classes. After becoming a bit older, I became arrogant and stopped practicing. Needless to say, the effects were close to devastating. I never understood the importance of learning my theory, as I was just interested in the practical side of music. Slowly, but steadily, I forgot everything I knew about the theoretical side of music. My parents never knew of this until much later.
Now in 2011, I regret this senseless behaviour, as well try to regain my "ancient knowledge".
There is one interesting detail about the classes. After becoming a bit older, I became arrogant and stopped practicing. Needless to say, the effects were close to devastating. I never understood the importance of learning my theory, as I was just interested in the practical side of music. Slowly, but steadily, I forgot everything I knew about the theoretical side of music. My parents never knew of this until much later.
Now in 2011, I regret this senseless behaviour, as well try to regain my "ancient knowledge".
The Surprise
Then, one day, as I came back from school, there was a big surprise in the living room.
An authentic Grand Piano. One of the big ones, not any baby-grand. A concert sized Grand in our living room. I still think of that day in awe and cherish the moment when my father proudly presented it.
That was one of the moments I will not forget. Never. However, I never played as much as I now wish I had.
The con of practicing on a Grand is that your errors are magnified by times 10. Mine were magnified by more. I learned some songs my father loved playing, as well some of my own, such as Nightwish's Nemo.
We used to have these "music nights" when my parents put a CD on, and the volume was turned to the max. Our neighbours loved us, and we lived in an area where houses were not tightly packed together, so the music did not bother anyone. I still recall my mother running out in the rain, dancing to Phil Collins' music. Even though I did not often play by myself, I played a lot with my father, learning his favourite songs, and fiddling to them on the higher end of the Grand.
Years passed, and thus came the day when my mother suggested moving. At this point, I had already almost given up playing piano and taken new interests, like sports and gaming. I'd say that Runescape was the worst. Do not let your children near the game. End of story.
An authentic Grand Piano. One of the big ones, not any baby-grand. A concert sized Grand in our living room. I still think of that day in awe and cherish the moment when my father proudly presented it.
That was one of the moments I will not forget. Never. However, I never played as much as I now wish I had.
The con of practicing on a Grand is that your errors are magnified by times 10. Mine were magnified by more. I learned some songs my father loved playing, as well some of my own, such as Nightwish's Nemo.
We used to have these "music nights" when my parents put a CD on, and the volume was turned to the max. Our neighbours loved us, and we lived in an area where houses were not tightly packed together, so the music did not bother anyone. I still recall my mother running out in the rain, dancing to Phil Collins' music. Even though I did not often play by myself, I played a lot with my father, learning his favourite songs, and fiddling to them on the higher end of the Grand.
Years passed, and thus came the day when my mother suggested moving. At this point, I had already almost given up playing piano and taken new interests, like sports and gaming. I'd say that Runescape was the worst. Do not let your children near the game. End of story.
Three years later, I changed school once again, that being the second time since moving (change from original school not included). This school had music as one of the subjects, and I felt a sort of magnetism radiating from the word on the subject list. I soon found myself in the music class.
After regaining some touch with music on the piano of the music class, I got interested again and told my dad that we were going to get a piano. However, despite agreeing to buy a piano, there was a condition; I had to enroll in music classes which involved both practical and theory. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the lessons and after 5 months, I quit on the argument that the teachers were bad (they weren't bad. I was just lazy).
Throughout the school year, I gradually picked up my old skill again, and even though I was the new guy in school, I was the "new-guy-who-plays-piano". Everyone in the class was impressed, or at least surprised; the strange guy with dark blonde curly hair, who looks like a spoilt geek plays piano like an expert.
Well, an "expert". To my chagrin, it was only the guys that were impressed. No lady got interested in me, but I was fine with it. I doubt I would've been ready for a relationship anyway. I am not implying that music was or is a tool for me to get women interested in me, but I would call it more like a weak method of attention-seeking. I admit it. However, it is not that bad, as long as you don't ridicule or harm others in doing so. However, my previous school had taught me that attention can also be bad...
In the end of the year, I got a grade "C" in my GCSE music, which by itself, compared to my level was pathetic. However, this was the grade I was given for only the half of my work. The other half mysteriously vanished. I still wonder what happened to it and comfort myself by thinking that I got better grade than many people with only half of my stuff. With all of it, I could have done as well as an "A*".
I played in the concerts and my style began to solidify, but my music teacher warned me of this progression, as he did not want my music to become monotonic. This is an important point: Do not let your music be classified as one type. I say "classified", as in ONLY one kind of music with the same style, tempo, etc.
Throughout the school year, I gradually picked up my old skill again, and even though I was the new guy in school, I was the "new-guy-who-plays-piano". Everyone in the class was impressed, or at least surprised; the strange guy with dark blonde curly hair, who looks like a spoilt geek plays piano like an expert.
Well, an "expert". To my chagrin, it was only the guys that were impressed. No lady got interested in me, but I was fine with it. I doubt I would've been ready for a relationship anyway. I am not implying that music was or is a tool for me to get women interested in me, but I would call it more like a weak method of attention-seeking. I admit it. However, it is not that bad, as long as you don't ridicule or harm others in doing so. However, my previous school had taught me that attention can also be bad...
In the end of the year, I got a grade "C" in my GCSE music, which by itself, compared to my level was pathetic. However, this was the grade I was given for only the half of my work. The other half mysteriously vanished. I still wonder what happened to it and comfort myself by thinking that I got better grade than many people with only half of my stuff. With all of it, I could have done as well as an "A*".
I played in the concerts and my style began to solidify, but my music teacher warned me of this progression, as he did not want my music to become monotonic. This is an important point: Do not let your music be classified as one type. I say "classified", as in ONLY one kind of music with the same style, tempo, etc.
Up to this day, I have been trying out new styles and songs by different artists like Elton John, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder and Yiruma, as well as different bands, such as Lostprophets, Linkin Park, Poets of The Fall, and many more. However, a category of music that has established itself as my favourite; Movie Soundtracks.
Well, six years have gone by since we moved. I have learned an incredible amount about music, and that only hard work and studying allows you to get results. I have yet a lot to learn, and I doubt that I will ever learn the art of music anywhere near perfection, but I am quite sure many others feel the way I do. Music by itself is an invention of the mankind, a tool that can be used to both do good and harm.
I hope that I can make music as long as my hands remain stable, and that my music creates joy for whomever happens to listen to it. I am sorry for the fact that the music industry, which has become almost a dirty word, has become so false and deceiving, but one day, it may all seem like a bad dream. Our society evolves, our life evolves, our world evolves, and our music evolves.
Final Words
Well, six years have gone by since we moved. I have learned an incredible amount about music, and that only hard work and studying allows you to get results. I have yet a lot to learn, and I doubt that I will ever learn the art of music anywhere near perfection, but I am quite sure many others feel the way I do. Music by itself is an invention of the mankind, a tool that can be used to both do good and harm.
I hope that I can make music as long as my hands remain stable, and that my music creates joy for whomever happens to listen to it. I am sorry for the fact that the music industry, which has become almost a dirty word, has become so false and deceiving, but one day, it may all seem like a bad dream. Our society evolves, our life evolves, our world evolves, and our music evolves.
