Good morning.
There was a long stretch of time as a kid where I dreaded piano lessons. Once or twice I hid in a room where my piano teacher couldn’t see me from the front door and I pretended I didn’t hear the doorbell so I could avoid having a lesson that day. As soon as my parents said I could quit, I did.
A few years later I got back into it and have loved playing ever since, though there have been several long stretches during which I didn’t touch a piano. I’ve had at least four other teachers over the years, but very sporadically and sometimes just for a few lessons.
I've heard a lot of people say “I wish I’d stuck with piano lessons as a kid.” I guess the same has occurred to me…but as someone who has started and stopped the practice many times (sometimes for years) I’ve realized that it’s never a bad thing to use the tools you have, no matter how limited, if you feel there’s something you need to express through music. It might not come out exactly how you hear it in your head but at least you’re trying…and getting better at expressing yourself along the way.
That’s how it’s been for me lately: a bit frustration that I can’t say as much as I want due to limitations in my ability (just like with my Spanish), and then piecing together something using whatever skills I have to work with. And getting just a little bit better in the process.
Today’s piece is a bit tiring on the left hand and a good workout. I’ve called it a “left hand exercise” just like in those theory books we used to have under the seat of the piano bench. In lieu of any formal lessons at the moment it's nice to create an exercise for myself even if that wasn't really the intention.
So here you are, a piano exercise for the left hand! Whatever it takes to get your fingers moving.
See you next time.
Share this post