“How would your life be like,” my father sat beside me and said, “if you’ve continued playing piano?”
No response came. I had never been able to comment about this, and I felt I never will. However, my father’s words forced me to start at the piano beside us. It had stood there for a long time, but had spent most of its years untouched, unsighted, unconcerned.
It was a Sunday afternoon, with golden sunlight shining into the living room. I was spending my leisure time sitting of the sofa when my father joined me.
“Well, you’re just like me, somehow.” My father stood up and left, “We both like listening, but never like performing.
Again, my father’s words impacted me. My body was confined onto the sofa, and my mind started to soar into the past, towards my experience of learning piano when I was in kindergarten.
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Although I was learning well in the kindergarten, I always appeared more numb than other kids in playing and having fun. My parents were a bit worried about my condition, so they decided to send me to an audition lesson of piano. I cannot remember so vividly about the first few of my piano lessons. It was held in out kindergarten, with an unfamiliar female teacher sitting by the piano in a classroom with two side of the wall made by mirror. About the teacher, she was not the kindest, nor the best teacher I’ve ever met, but she was the one who introduced me to the world of piano. We started by learning the concept of beat and the notes. Within the first class we progressed towards reading the stave and referring it on the piano, and after practices of times over times, I was able to play a simple tune without a mistake. My teacher was definitely impressed, and she reported to my parents that I had the ability to become a good
The father, Lou, is characterized as an odd jazz aficionado that cares about his family and wants them to have every opportunity available. Lou losses himself in the music as told in, “Are you listening to this? These cats are burning the paint right off the walls,” while also vigorously snapping his fingers and bobbing his head (19). On the way home from this very same jazz concert he has the idea to start teaching his children musical instruments so that they can form a group. Lou is convinced that his three novice children could, “go right through the roof,” (20). This is an instance of the father’s will for his children to make something of themselves. As a jazz connoisseur the father seems to have some suppressed dreams of his own to perform and “make it big” but has chosen the life of a computer engineer so that he can support his family comfortably. Thusly as a parent Lou believes that his ch...
Do you ever have one of those days when you remember your parents taking away all of your baseball cards or all of your comic books because you got a bad grade in one of your classes? You feel a little depressed and your priced possession has been stolen. This event is the same as August Wilson’s, The Piano Lesson. The story is about a sibling rivalry, Boy Willie Charles against Berniece Charles, regarding an antique, family inherited piano. Boy Willie wants to sell the piano in order to buy the same Mississippi land that his family had worked as slaves. However, Berniece, who has the piano, declines Boy Willie’s request to sell the piano because it is a reminder of the history that is their family heritage. She believes that the piano is more consequential than “hard cash” Boy Willie wants. Based on this idea, one might consider that Berniece is more ethical than Boy Willie.
His Father never had any formal training musically, but whatever gifts he did possess he p[assed unto his son with the most fervent passion even if they were only musical basics.
Due to the different eras between the Harpsichord and the Piano, a significant difference in their design, function and role is presented. In order to understand how each instrument developed, an analysis of each era needs to be provided first.
In the Piano Lesson the main symbol is the piano in Berniece’s home. The piano has a lot of meaning behind it and has been through a lot. This piano has made it all the way from the South to the North, which wasn’t easy. Berniece brought the piano miles from where it was because it meant so much to her. The carvings on this piano are magnificent they represent all of her ancestors. The blood and sweat that were put into making this piano means so much more than just something you play is amazing: “ Willie Boy carved all this. He got a picture of his mama… Mamma Esther… and his daddy, Boy Charles. He got all kinds of things that happened with our family” (1183). Instead of carving what Sutter asked he made the whole piano about the history of his family. After the carving was done, the piano became a monument to his family’s
When Bernstein was ten years old, his Aunt Clara was undergoing a divorce and “left an old upright piano in the Bernstein house.” The close presence of the piano motivated Bernstein to take
of how difficult and time-consuming it may have been. Playing an instrument is a great way to take one’s
What can appear to gleam and reflect such beauty and craftsmanship yet can be handled by a three year old. It’s sound so pure by a touch of a finger has been in existence for well over a hundred years and is the foundation for creating music. It’s black and white keys produce sounds when played correctly that can bring tears to one’s eyes, touch your heart and soul, bring hope, or even joy and laughter to an event. All of this power… lies in the piano. The piano from its creation to this very second had transformed the world of music no matter what class, talent, and ability.
We see it in homes, schools, restaurants, and in various other places, but not many people know the changes it had to go through to touch our hearts with the endless possibilities the piano provides. Not many people know the origins and changes the piano has gone through to get where it is today. The truth is it was invented around the year 1700 by Bartolomeo Cristofori DI Francesco. For example, not many people know that the average piano started with sixty-six keys and changed to the average eighty-eight keys. One thing is for sure, pianos have gone through some major changes since they were first made.
I stood up, as the loud vibrations of the church bells seem to touch my heart. I crossed the long, seemingly endless stream of soft healthy green grass to the black box, which lay just as I had left it in its own solitude. Inside of it lay the violin in which I had devoted a lot of my middle school life to. I had spent many hours practicing on this wooden contraption. Now all of my hard work, all of my hours practicing, would go into making this one piece sound amazing, spectacular, and memorable. This wasn’t something I was doing for myself. This was something I was doing for my family, friends, and most importantly the sweet, cherished soul of my dearly departed grandmother. I wanted there to be one last remarkable token of my love for someone who had made such a large impact on my life. I knew that my grandmother had absolutely loved the fact that I play a violin. She had always said that I held so much talent.
The piano—originally known as the fortepiano or pianoforte—is one of the most globally recognized instruments in history. Its unique timbre distinguishes it from preceding keyboard instruments and even from modern keyboard instruments that attempt to imitate it. The pianoforte has made many changes and contributions to music, which can be seen through how it came to be, what composers first thought of the instrument, and how it affected orchestral music.
This book discusses the life of Glenn Gould who was a profound pianist known for his classical music, Peter Ostwald a late violinist who wrote “The Ecstasy and Tragedy of Genius of Glenn Gould” believed that Gould was extraordinary gifted and that his music gained much appreciation among the people in the community. He not only saw Gould as a genius but also as a companion who struggled to find peace in his life through the sound of music. Gould didn’t act like a normal child he isolated himself from others because he felt that others around him did not share the same passion for music. His father noticed when he was born that instead of crying, “Glenn always hum” (Ostwald, 1997). This showed that Glenn was born with a passion towards music from the very early stages of life. Gould formed behaviors of an ambivalent attachment style towards his mother and behaviors of a secure attachment towards his father this impacted his ability to form long lasting relationships with people during his childhood progressing into his adult years. (My thesis)
In those days, I never got to see the importance of having those lessons, practicing for hours, and even playing those tunes. As much as I tried, I could never find a way to enjoy it; it was no more than some never-ending horrible homework for me. But today, I thank my teacher for forcing me to appreciate the art of music. Now, I can easily list playing the piano as one of the most refreshing aspects of my life. Whenever I feel down, I always have the chance to be up in clouds after a couple of minutes. Swaying back and forth, I can surrender myself to the soothing tunes and get lost in the harmony. I believe very few people have that kind of luxury and I'm absolutely grateful for that.
Nine years ago, when I was in kindergarten, I always looked up to my sister as a role model. If she liked a certain food, I would like it; if she did something, I would want to do it also. So, it only made sense that when she started to play piano, I would want to play too. For months, I was like a mosquito to my dad, asking him when I could start playing piano. Two years later, my wish came true. When my sister went off to college, my dad asked me, “Do you want to start playing piano?”