Tag Archive: piano



Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “move.” Use it as a verb or a noun; write the first thing that comes to mind. Have fun!

Moving was the title I gave to the memoir I wrote a couple of NaNoWriMos ago. The name started revealing itself to me right away. At first, it was that even though I was in two houses for my first twenty-one years, they kept building schools for our grade level, and we were the newbies to settle each new school. After marriage, my husband’s job moved us around the state.

My story then ran in how my mental attitude moved from one thinking to another. Music played a part in the many mental states I phased through. And since I have been reentering the music world for a while, movement is a prominent word in that realm.

Photo by Saeid Anvar on Pexels.com

Ah, but yesterday, before I even saw the prompt of the day, I saw the word movement on the top of most of the pieces I worked on.

Photo by David McEachan on Pexels.com

Each piece was a movement from one symphony or another. As a music major whose professor was the conductor of the college orchestra, I sat in on a lot of concerts. But I couldn’t sit still. My teacher saw that I needed to be a part of the music, so she made sure I had the orchestral score to follow along with. My aim in music in college was voice, not piano. There was too much psychology attached to that big, beautiful machine.

In the next few days, I plan to break it all down. Needless to say, I need to move from the depth of stagefright that even played a part in yesterday’s practices to phone calls or being with more than people I know very, very well.

Now I need to move, to Duo, then uke, then recorder, then bed. Get up and MOVE!


Remember way back when I mentioned I might start a podcast? I can’t remember what I thought I’d call it, but a new title comes to mind as I started day # 3 of piano reawakening. “Warts and All”

We are so used to seeing the end result of endless practice. That makes sitting in front or with your art impossible. “I’ll never be that good. Why try?” So many negative things we tell ourselves, and because of that, we will never know what enjoyment we might bring ourselves or others while waiting for perfection. Follow your passions. God, muses, whatever you may call it, gets the credit for your curiosity drive. Do we dare let our defeatism lead the way? So I’m taking you on the ride. I took piano lessons since I was 5. I rebelled my way out around 16. After marriage at 21, I had to wait a while to get my old piano. My second son was teething when I got my piano back. I was rusty but could still enjoy the below pieces and much more, nearly totally memorized. I would play so hyperfocused that that piano had teething marks as the poor baby begged for my attention. So, I had to keep the practice to light bits.

When we moved to my first desert, Antelope Valley, the house was so small I had to keep the piano in a chicken coop. It was an old upright grand. It looked quite at home there. I would get up and go out in my heavy coat and gloves, scarf, and cap. As I did the scales and warm-ups, layers were released. I was starting to fall in love with my kidnapper. Stockholm Syndrome? There was a lot of angst from the psychological damage that practicing piano imposed on me.

A few decades later, after letting myself enjoy other music, singing, playing the recorder, and playing the ukulele, I felt like I wanted to try to bring it all back. Three days ago, I figured out a time of the day I could schedule my piano time. My first day was a lot of cleaning my baby. We get a lot of dust out here. And the darned mice. Lots of cleaning. But hey, that old piano in the chicken coop was pretty bad, too. And I love this piano. How I got it is another story. So cleaning it was, is now, a work of love. I did start playing that day for a few minutes. It went well. I kept it to 15 minutes. For some reason, yesterday’s practice made me want to cry. Today I decided to start recording myself and sharing the mess and progress with you. You are not required to listen to these as if they were elevator music. It is merely how it is when you try.

Solfeggietto by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Sarabande and Variations from Suite no. 4 in D minor George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Prelude No. 1 from Well-tempered Clavichord by J. S. Bach
Six Variations by L. van Beethoven
I did play this a bit, but I want to start fresh on it. I love this piece.

Enough of music. I’ll share the uke and recorder progress later.

I’m nearly halfway through the Dock diamond painting. The light behind shows the need to use a straightener. Wow!
I got a few more rows. I love the watermelon socks! MINE!
I thought I was on the decreasing part of the heel when I realized that these won’t fit my son; they are almost too small for me. Mismeasuring happens to me sometimes. I can measure my own feet, but other feet are in other cities! So, it’s time to frog back to the beginning of the heel. Still, I love this yarn so much that I ordered more. I love my own slippers from this peacock yarn.
In the next row, I will begin the heel.

Passion is imperfect.

One-Liner Wednesday


One-Liner Wednesday

Be your own elevator music.

My husband and I have been having a lot of discussions about music, practice time and spaces. At the end of our discussion we agreed on the above bit of mutual quote as our different drum we’re beating.

Our discussion from last night and this morning found my piano time. And I had fun. I can’t wait to play again, tomorrow.

Music


From Facebook

My husband got a new guitar yesterday. Is it wrong of me to be excited that we might jam one of these days?🎸🪈🎵🎶

Not me or my ukulele.

Here’s that holey bendy bits and the rings bits. How do they fits?
Bendies at the top and bottom of the three chains. Ringies hook the top of the chains to the heart and another hooks the big gem at the bottom. Squeeze the hole parts onto the chain with pliers. Make sure they are on tight or you will be flustered and floundering and possibly throwing all the bits. Two suncatchers more to go. Enough frustration for this day!
Progress, mostly halfway finished

Real flounders entice sea turtles down to floor. The flounders are having a feast!

Another pair of slipper socks. I’m incorporating that nice stretchy arch I learned with the no-show socks.

I’m getting a little better with chording on the ukulele. I almost don’t have to look when changing from C to F to G7 and back to C all the while singing. Almost time for a new lesson. It’s supposed to be a 30 day course, but my soft, achy fingers needed more time. I’m still learning day 9 a couple weeks later.

The recorder comes and goes. Teaching myself and my fingers soprano, alto, and tenor. I can finally reach all notes on soprano and alto, though not consistently. I can barely get the top three holes of the tenor.

And. AND I CLEANED THE PIANO WELL SO IT WELCOMES ME! Maybe tomorrow I’ll actually play!!!!

A quick note. Door push-ups, floor to ceiling stretches, then more than 30 minutes or more than 5 miles on the stationary bike. All still happening. So some things are growing into habits. Others are still work. But a lot of flounder still happens. Ah, well, it’s February!

Floundering February


After National Novel Writing Month in November, then the birthdays, Christmas and cold, and the occasional editing and keeping up the journal, somehow, January needed help. Linda G. Hill gives us Just Jot It January. The prompts help make sure we write something every day. I have done those for a couple of years now. I am grateful for the push to Just Jot.

Thank you, Linda, for the fun of JusJoJan.

But always, in the past, I found myself floundering in February. Hence, the fish:

He is a quick sketch, and the eraser was smudgy. He’s a little cross-eyed. That’s how I feel in this short month that lasts a couple years. Let’s think about this guy. He is the bottom feeder. He lays on or under the sand, both eyes looking up to catch whatever morsel floats down to him. I’m sure he is grateful for the tension that occurs above. That is how I feel about the tidbits of passion the muses drop to me.

It’s too cold for walks. But I am being steady on the stationary bike. Knitting is to keep the hands busy during TV or chats. When I am nearing the end of the day, Duo calls me, and then I do my blog. Whatever comes to mind. I’m trying to go earlier on these, so there is enough time and energy to build callouses on the uke and stretch the fingers for the soprano and alto recorders. Learning how the music theory I learned and applied to the piano and voice can apply to these other ventures.

To help me get back into playing scales, which will help with getting back into piano playing, I picked up one of these roll-up pianos to play with in my bedroom. It has an earphone plug-in, so no one has to put up with the noise but me. So these are my musical flounderings. Right now, it is just mechanical. But I am hoping that my tidbits of time and energy will spark a real musical enjoyment.

My diamond painting area is now open as the dragon is being shipped to his friend. I don’t know which one will be next. But I intend to flounder and fuss about in there and seek the enjoyment.

So that is what my Flounder Feb is all about. Finding enjoyment, if not passions, and hoping that all the flotsam and jetsam of tidbits build a healthier me. We’re not looking for perfection. That’s what happens up topside.

What is your Flounder doing this February? If you choose to play, use my pic and link back here.

Ta Da Tuesday


I finally organized my wig stuff I’d been playing with since before Halloween. Now it’s all in it’s own bin.

Then I started organizing my hobby shelf. Just the art cubby.

Now I can find what I need.

And now I can get back to

And

Yes, my diamond painting and piano are calling.

But before I can go to bed these two are wanting attention.

Tuning and a chord or two, and Aura Lee.

A Facebook Truth


My piano friends know this is a fact!

Rose Among Thornes: an inspiring World War II historical fictionRose Among Thornes: an inspiring World War II historical fiction by Terrie Todd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was a bit of a surprise. Though a Christian fiction, it was uplifting, not preachy, and often about church music. That has always been my favorite part of church. The main character is a pianist, so I could relate in many ways to her need to practice when there was no piano around.

The above theme runs through the book set in WWII, Canada, and then Japan. The bigotry towards the Japanese since Pearl Harbor is shown to us through Rose and her family. That is another theme.

Though this is fiction, I heard enough stories from my dad and other WWII vets that this felt quite true. And for those who like romance, there is a little of that. Not sickeningly so, just something positive to look forward to.

I enjoyed the book. Maybe you will, too!

View all my reviews


The prompt word for January 22nd is “seasonal.” Thanks go to Kaye for the wonderful prompt!

Please be sure to check out Kaye’s blog here!

For Just Jot it January, click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/22/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-22nd-2023/ It’s fun!

Linda spoke of how her writing was seasonal. NaNoWriMo, CampNaNo and Just Jot It January becomes her writing time. Me, too. It seems those programs help motivate me properly. I haven’t won every time. And sometimes, like last month as I tried another goal, I made no progress at all. But often I make the 50k. Even on the camps. That would probably not surprise my teachers. Most of my report cards had comments like, ‘Darlene talks too much in class.’

This year I’ve over-goaled my life with all the gifts I’m trying to make and so writing has fallen by the wayside.

And I still have to podcast and start reading aloud my books, starting with my memoirs. The area in my house I planned on using, suddenly has Diamond Paintings.

My recorder playing, piano and voice practice have fallen off.

There are only 24 hours in a day. Still!!! I stay up reading until 3 or 4. With my old dog waking me often, sleep also seems seasonal. Heat and smoke and bugs of summer, icy cold and snow of winter affects everything in our house. Where we hang out, how we sleep, either covered up over my head with warmth or sheet to keep bugs off. And all this affects energy and pain levels, ya know?

Maybe I need to organize my day better and my week to include everything I want to do.

Thank goodness for the treadmill. It still gets used most days of the week.

How does anyone get anything done with a job? I did do NaNo. But the rest of this, writing, knitting, especially learning new stitches, artwork, music, etc. Little got done. Too tired. Housework. Phew!

Seasons of our lives are as influential as the weather. Whew!

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