Tag Archives: learning music
Things You Never Knew You Needed: String Blanket
So, the last time I’d had my piano tuned, Debbie Pianotuner* was cleaning the inside of the case and ran a cloth along the strings. She looked at the cloth and said, “Hmmm…” Now, “Hmmm” is rarely good and so … Continue reading
Compose Yourself
So, one of the things I’ve gotten to spend some more time with during my – err – sabbatical from gainful employment – is my piano. For those who’ve been around here a while, you might recall that a couple … Continue reading
My Favorite Gadget
One of the things that I know will get a good workout while I’m off is my piano. With a pretty wide-open schedule, there’s really an opportunity to spend some time really getting better (and I mean relatively, I’m not … Continue reading
Incremental Instrumental Improvement
I realized the other day that I hadn’t really written very much about playing the piano. The lack of posts however don’t reflect a lack of activity. With the installation (b/c that’s what it seemed like) of our grand in … Continue reading
My Keys to Relaxation
So, nearly two years ago already, I decided to use my tax return that year to buy a digital piano. It was kind of an unusual choice – I’d never played any musical instrument in my life and couldn’t read music. … Continue reading
Back to the Bench
In science, the phrase “back to the bench” typically means a return to the laboratory after a period of not doing experiments – usually caused by writing papers or grants, or in my case becoming a (gasp) manager. Now my … Continue reading
A Chord of Questions
So tonight is the last night of my piano class and our final. It’s been sort of a strange semester – and I can’t believe it’s gone by this quickly. Much like last year, the class was whittled down from … Continue reading
Harmonize… Realize
Not too long ago, I was stressing about a snippet in my Piano Course requirement that said that part of the course was going to require some composition, which I thought was just sort of crazy talk. Circle_of_5ths I’m not … Continue reading
Unanticipatedly Off
So the delivery of our new washer and dryer was scheduled for this morning (please be home between 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.) – and after a really packed couple of weeks leading up to the end of the quarter, … Continue reading
Dissonance and The Sunshine State
Okay – so my piano teacher for this semester looks like Philip Seymour Hoffman. He’s pretty much the antithesis of my teacher from last semester, which sort of worried me at first, because I enjoyed that first class so much. … Continue reading
