Alrighty, it’s time for music, part two: What do I play?
Short answer: piano and cello. And I sing (a little).
Long answer:
You probably read in my last post that I started piano lessons when I was six. I grew up on John Thompson, Dennis Alexander, and Piano Adventures. I’ve played at the Sonatina Festival (a sort of piano competition) for probably the last 7 or 8 years, and I generally prefer the more modern pieces (I’ve done Kevin Olson’s “Seasons” and “Colors”). I’ve played some Mozart, Burgmüller, Chopin, Beethoven, etc., but overall not a whole lot of classical stuff. I like lyrical, modern stuff –even some New Age, if it’s good– and things like new arrangements of old hymns. At Christmastime, I always try to pick the more haunting pieces to play at recitals– Carol of the Bells; We Three Kings; O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. I don’t know why, I just like those best.
Of course, when it comes to the piano, my real love is in composing and improvising. When I’m alone in the house, I will always sit down at the piano and just play. I’ve written and “recorded” a few songs, which you can listen to on my Youtube channel (woodrowclock). I spend more time making stuff up than actually practicing…don’t tell my teachers.
I started playing cello when I was twelve. It was hugely frustrating at first, because it was strange to feel so clumsy at an instrument after playing piano for six years. Eventually though, I realized how much help that piano experience was for learning the cello. My teacher used to half-jokingly call me a “genius” because I picked things up so quickly (he doesn’t call me that anymore, though…). A year after I started I wrote a poem about how much I loved playing the cello. I love it. A lot.
The cool thing is that I had my first experience playing in an ensemble on the cello. Really early on, a violin teacher asked if I could play for her string quartet “camp” she did with her students. The first time we ran through the Mozart piece we were doing, I just sat there and grinned. The apathetic violin students probably thought I was crazy, but I couldn’t wipe that grin off my face.
My teacher hosted group lessons, where all his cello students come together and play things like Pachelbel’s Canon and the Mary-Zuki blues (both arranged by my teacher). Those were fun (and still are). I also joined a youth orchestra, which was a lot of fun. I’ve played in three such orchestras now, but I’m currently in a community orchestra conducted by my dad. I’ve been in a couple of chamber ensembles as well. Basically, I love making music with other people. It’s awesome.
As far as singing, it’s something I’ve done my whole life. (By the way, you notice how some singers say things like “I started singing when I was 9″? What does that mean? That they never sang a single song until then?) I sing mostly for fun, though keep in mind that I’ve grown up with a voice teacher for a mom– the stuff rubs off. I joined the choir at church a few years ago, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Not only did I get to hang out with the coolest older people (which would not have happened if I’d chosen instead to hang out with the youth group crowd) but I got to sing in a choir!
Sadly, the church choir has been sort of… killed, and no one knows if/when it’s coming back. There’s a small choir at my homeschool co-op, but it’s not quite the same. *sigh*
But I’ve decided I will always try to be in a choir. It’s so fun and rewarding. If you haven’t already, you should try it.
So there ya go, the instruments and music that I play. And sing. Haha. Tune in next time for… whatever it was that I said I’d write about next!
