Music is an integral part of the human experience. It draw us in, it captures our souls, it creates a sense of unity. I am a partaker of a mystery, a vehicle for something greater than myself. Whether it be in the form of performing music, creating music spontaneously, or arranging my own music, I am a conveyer of the human experience through sound.
Now why I love playing piano is an interesting question. It has something to do with a connection that was formed with the instrument throughout the years. Like a good friend who has seen you through good and tough times, it has always been there for me. If I am blue it is there, if I am joyful it is there. It is one of the things in life I never regret doing. It hasn't always been that way though. At five years old, like many kids, I had no idea what was going on, all I know is that I had to go to piano lessons. My natural proclivities for having a good ear certainly helped. Practice at home was at times torturous. Playing with friends is usually the top priority for many kids and work the last thing on the mind. But over the years, my parents kept dragging me to lessons, every few months there would be another recital and experience kept growing. Then there was the fateful evening concert where a concert pianist performed Bach suites and partitas. This is the pivotal performance that sparked the fire within.
But why have I stuck with it? Why not drop like many others?
Sometimes there are energies within you that you just can't shake. There are talents that you have. Our talents are ultimately meant to be in service of others. We must reach a part of our growth where we finally step out of ourselves and have a service mindset, to be helpful in someway to others. To get out of our self-made tower of greatness and start giving back. So to tie it into why I love piano is that ever since I shifted from myself to others, it has taken on a depth of purpose. It gives a why. At first it was about proving myself to others with how good I could play, then it shifted to teaching others and when performing, the edification of souls with music. If I can move someone in some beneficial way then my work is done!
Another reason I love the piano is the endless journey it presents. Think of ones skill or progress as being on a continuum. Some of us are more or less skillful than others, but we are never done. There is always more to learn. As the great Bill Evans said "You never master the instrument. You always strive to get better."
So if Bill Evans, who was a total master of a pianist said that, how true it is for everyone else! There is always a new scale, new music, different ways of approaching the piano that we have never considered before. It is all these things combined which constantly adds to new life to the craft and thus never gets old.
But need I even point out how awesome the piano sounds. When it's in tune at least. There is something about the way it sounds. When you simply sit and listen to piano music the sound is true. It resonates within. There is no other way to describe it.
Piano provides the avenue for flow state. That state when you are in the moment. When the sense of time seems to fade into the background. You are totally engrossed in what you are doing. You are free. Your senses are sharp. You are in the moment. Listening. Feeling the music.
If you have made it this far I applaud you! Why do you love playing piano? I could fill an entire book on why I love playing piano! Leave your thoughts in the comments and subscribe.
And that is why I love playing the piano.
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