How Does Our Love of Music Begin?

I can clearly remember being six years old, and begging my parents for piano lessons.  It wasn't a vague whim or something I heard my friends talking about--it was a consuming interest in something I knew little about, but I knew I had to learn this instrument.

I grew up with a piano in my home given to us by my paternal grandfather.  My mother loved to sit down on the bench during her daily chores and play some of her favorite pieces from the 1940's.  She was completely self-taught, and I loved listening to the music as she played as sang along with the melody.

My first requests for piano lessons were turned down with vague reasons like "you're too young to know what you want" and "we can't afford lessons right now".  These reasons seemed invalid to a six-year-old, but I switched to a more covert approach, finding time to listen to music on the radio, and participating in songs I learned in school.  By the time I was seven, I could tell I was wearing my parents down, and my lessons began.

My first teacher was a very elderly lady from England named Madora Cadwallader, who lived just a few blocks from church.  Some wonderful church people found her for me, as I evidently told a lot of people there of my great need to learn to play the piano ( I was a drama queen even then!!). Finally, the first chapter of my Piano Story had just begun.  

                                            

Questions to Ask a Piece of Music

How does it start?  Where does it go?
Does it go fast, or does it go slow?
What happens again? Now, that's an it.
Is there another, and how do they fit?

End to end, interjecting, sometimes overlapping,
Or keeping their distance, imitating while tracking?
Once loud. Now soft, and what is that hopping--
It was high, now it's low:  Is it coughing and stopping?

Quickly or slowly, what's staying the same?
While what, for a while, goes through a change?
What's by itself?  Are there groups? Any friction?
How does it move, and what is its diction?

Does it step, or wildly leap? 
Float unhampered, or creep, creep, creep?
Does it sing, or merely stammer?
Shout and coo, or squawk or clamor?

Does it dance, converse, or maybe, give a speech?
Waddle, or even, matter-of-factly screech?
Does it totter, then stop, or whine and peck,
Keep quiet a while, pause, go on, then come back?

Is there stumbling, soaring, swooping?
Awkward jerks, or simply drooping?
Again and again, toward what is it tending?
How does it go through the process of ending?


Mark Sullivan, July 1981

How Can A Piano Change Your Life?

This blog chronicles my love affair with music and a long line of pianos that have kept me company for over 60 years.  This was a "love at first sight" experience for me which began at age six.  I've never been far (physically or emotionally) from this wonderful instrument, and it has shaped my life in every possible way.

If you are interested in all types of music experiences, you can read about them here.  How does a four-year-old learn to play the piano?  How does music change your brain? Can adults learn to play the piano as easily as young children?  How does music technology fit into our piano experience, and does it help or hinder us?

There are so many questions, and so many answers out there.  We'd like to start this journey with you, so stop by frequently, and let us know what you think, and what you'd like to talk about.

Welcome to the Music Room!

I'm glad you found us on the web!  This is a new blog geared toward sharing our musical stories and experiences.  Almost everyone I have ever met has some sort of  'musical' story, and often that story affected that person's life in some small or large way.  In my piano studio, we are discovering how thinking about music and talking about it affects how we play.  Regardless of our instrument, music can move us and change us.

Music can often be perceived as a solitary pursuit--after all, one must spend time practicing, thinking about the pieces we have chosen, and then perfecting our selections.  It's important, however, to see music as something beyond ourselves.  When we participate in a recital or other performance, we affect others, and by sharing our musical offerings, we can often change something or someone in the greater world.

Stop by again soon and read our posts, and reply if you'd like to share.