And I am so excited! It really is almost like riding a bike, except I don’t ride a bike anymore. I don’t even have a bike, but I do have a piano. The only thing is that it’s been at my brothers’ family’s home since I left for grad school in 2005. During grad school, I rarely touched a piano. And during my six years in Taiwan, I think I played a piano four times while there, and just a couple of times during my summer visits home. There was an opportunity to have my own piano in Taiwan as reported here, but that didn’t work out.
In my former life, playing the piano was almost a daily event. At various times, I was a music director in a church, a K-8 school music teacher, and a piano teacher. After ten years away, someone asked me to be a rehearsal accompanist for one area of a state-wide choir. I wasn’t too worried about accepting because initially, all I would be doing is playing each sections parts for them. Still, I was curious.
But I didn’t want to just go to my brother’s house. I wanted to go to a church and pull out some of the music and see if I could really do the kind of playing needed for following a director and supporting a group of singers. So, after lunch today, I went over to my parents’ church, pulled out a book of music, and sat down at the piano.
Yes, there were starts and stops, places where I had to work over some rough spots before playing confidently, but within an hour, I was playing well enough to realize that with practice, I could still be a competent accompanist. And it really raised my spirits. I had forgotten how good it feels to move my fingers across those keys. Now, I’m really looking forward to September 15–the night of my first rehearsal with the group. And it is rumored that I might be picking up a couple of piano students.
I am delighted that after a 10-year hiatus, I will be making music again.
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