I'm rereading a book I read about 5 years ago - the Piano Shop on the Left bank by Thad Carhart. It is a charming book, with a story line about an American living in Paris and the piano he buys from a Piano Shop on the Left bank. But along the way, there are wonderful stories about the origins of pianos, different manufacturers, music written for pianos and famous composers. It is a wonderful book - something that enthralls me.
It's come at just the wrong time - I have just sold one of my pianos (the Challen - the pretty one - which has a cracked pin block, so would cost about R20 000 to repair) and the Kawai, which belonged to my parents, has been sent away to be reconditioned and refelted. So when the urge to rush off and play comes upon me, I can only dream.
Which is probably just as well. When my piano comes back, I don't know if I will have time to play as much as I need to in order to make any progress at all. Right now, I definitely don't have time to practise for the hour a day I need to start off with.
They say playing a piano is like riding a bike - your fingers don't forget. They might get stiff and lose flexibility, they might get muddled, but the touch is still there and can come back to life. I was so lazy as a child and never practised as i should have, but I had a good "touch" and I hope to get that back again.
When I started reading the Piano Shop, I thought of a piece I really want to play - it is Chopin's "Raindrop" prelude - a beautiful, lyrical piece where you can hear the repetitive raindrops all the way through the left hand. I decided to see if I could download it from music notes - and it is in D flat - 5 flats!! So I may have to content myself with polishing up Beethoven's Sonatina in F - the only "snmart" piece of music I ever learnt properly.
My piano comes back next month - will it bring me the joy I am hoping for? I hope so.
11 years ago
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