FYI: I skipped a few days from #postaday2011 - I didn't care for the prompts given and I was too much in my head to write.
When I'm feeling down music does help cheer me up - sometimes. If I play the piano or my Native American Flute, a gift to myself, my mood changes, sometimes it improves and sometimes I tend to stay in the place that the mood has taken me to a bit longer. I also try to play a harmonica that I've had for year (not very successfully, but that isn't the point) and my ukulele, a very thoughtful gift from my daughter Liza, which is a much different instrument from the piano and flute and I struggle to understand the notes and chords - but I enjoy the struggle!
Playing music, as an escape or for entertainment, is a gift from my parents. Knowing how to play the piano was something of a priority for my Mother. She always wished she had learned. Her Mother, my Grandma Lucy, played the piano by ear. It was magical to watch her in a song and then play it on the piano. I started lessons is second grade - 30 minutes a week - with 30 minutes of practice a day. Mom was good at shooing me into the piano room to practice. Lessons were expensive for our working class family. I appreciate the sacrifices they must have had make to get the used upright piano, pay for lessons, and purchase what seemed like an endless need of piano books. I took piano lessons until I graduated from high school. In the fifth grade I was able to take one year of clarinet and then had to decide between the two instruments - piano won! After high school I didn't have much time to play and didn't have a piano. Just before I turned 30 my parents shipped the old upright to my home in Zumbrota, MN. It was such a kind, thoughtful gift! I loved having the opportunity to sit down and play and loved watching the kids enjoy the sounds from the piano. Shortly after the arrival of the piano I divorced my husband and the kids and I moved away. The piano wasn't something I could afford the space for or the shipping of, so it was sold. It saddened me to lose this piece of my history. A few years ago a graduate student was graduating from ISU and needed someone to take his beat-on spinet piano. My daughter, her fiance, partner, and I moved the piano down three flights of steps, onto an open bed truck, and into our living room. The piano was ugly but the joy of playing it overshadowed it's appearance. My Mother didn't think I should have such an ugly piece of furniture in our living room and decided that she and Dad would replace this with a used piano to celebrate completing my PhD. The piano is beautiful and the thought and kindness of my parents continuing to give me music is touching.
My son, Scott, recorded me playing my Native American Flute and choreographed a modern dance piece to the music. I was proud to be a part of his creative genius!
I am cheered up when I play musical instruments. When this isn't an option, the music that I turn includes:
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| Gift from Liza |
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| Gift to myself |
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| Gift from Mom & Dad |
Playing music, as an escape or for entertainment, is a gift from my parents. Knowing how to play the piano was something of a priority for my Mother. She always wished she had learned. Her Mother, my Grandma Lucy, played the piano by ear. It was magical to watch her in a song and then play it on the piano. I started lessons is second grade - 30 minutes a week - with 30 minutes of practice a day. Mom was good at shooing me into the piano room to practice. Lessons were expensive for our working class family. I appreciate the sacrifices they must have had make to get the used upright piano, pay for lessons, and purchase what seemed like an endless need of piano books. I took piano lessons until I graduated from high school. In the fifth grade I was able to take one year of clarinet and then had to decide between the two instruments - piano won! After high school I didn't have much time to play and didn't have a piano. Just before I turned 30 my parents shipped the old upright to my home in Zumbrota, MN. It was such a kind, thoughtful gift! I loved having the opportunity to sit down and play and loved watching the kids enjoy the sounds from the piano. Shortly after the arrival of the piano I divorced my husband and the kids and I moved away. The piano wasn't something I could afford the space for or the shipping of, so it was sold. It saddened me to lose this piece of my history. A few years ago a graduate student was graduating from ISU and needed someone to take his beat-on spinet piano. My daughter, her fiance, partner, and I moved the piano down three flights of steps, onto an open bed truck, and into our living room. The piano was ugly but the joy of playing it overshadowed it's appearance. My Mother didn't think I should have such an ugly piece of furniture in our living room and decided that she and Dad would replace this with a used piano to celebrate completing my PhD. The piano is beautiful and the thought and kindness of my parents continuing to give me music is touching.
My son, Scott, recorded me playing my Native American Flute and choreographed a modern dance piece to the music. I was proud to be a part of his creative genius!
I am cheered up when I play musical instruments. When this isn't an option, the music that I turn includes:
- The Beatles
- John Lennon
- ABBA
- Queen
- Eva Cassiday
- Black Eyed Peas: Where is the Love, I Gotta Feeling
- Israel Kamakaowiwo'ol - Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Wonderful World
- "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin
- "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" by Monty Python
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| Yep, that is a loon on my flute! It makes me think of Minnesota - home! |
