Saturday, May 19, 2018

Untitled, Undirected

I went through all kinds of ideas for a title for this blog, when my main motivation for writing it is simply because it's been three months since I wrote the last one.

Left versus Right on the piano.  All of us refer to the travel of the sound.  I.E., we say "up" when speaking about going to the right, and "down" when referring to going left.  It seems to me this is an excellent example that our brains prefer the input of our ears versus the input of our eyeballs. It's always easier for me to read something I have already heard.  Non-keyboard instruments don't have this dicotomy of direction except for larger stringed instruments.  Cello and bass players's fingers travel up and down the finger board in opposition to the direction of the sound they achieve.  Brass and wind players tighten muscles if they need higher pitches, which makes total sense.

So keyboard players must go left or right to achieve down or up, while cello and bass fingers must go up in order to go down.

Music greatly benefits brain development, coordination, and self-discipline.  It also creates a unique oxymoronic environment; that is, while music is soothing and relaxing to the listener, the performer will tell you the exact opposite.

Pianists who read well envy those who memorize well.  Pianists who memorize easily envy those who read well.  Rarely the two talents coalesce, creating icons such as a Rubenstein or a Horowitz.

So why play?  Why practice?  Why perform?  The cliched answer is for the love of the music.  The educated answer is to share knowledge.  The entertaining answer is to share joy.

In my case, the reason I continue to pursue such an erratic, paradoxical, paramountingly difficult career is because God gave me the gift and refuses to let me duck out of it.

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