Friday, July 17, 2009 ' 1:53 PM Y
& your soul is all i ever wanted
Music is in the ear of the composer
Today has been a good day ^^
Presentation for summer internship went well today! Yay to us XD
But what made me happier is my piano lesson went well ^^
Despite me giving up Estampe for the meantime (I definitely will play Pagodes one day!!!)
In fact both Melissa and me had great lessons today (Happy 21st Melissa ^^)
Today's lesson, paycheck arrival and next sem's fees arrival prompted me to consider why I don't just save the money I'm paying for lessons this summer. (Especially since I complain about the lack of it so much, haha)
After all I know quite a few people who have given up lessons altogether and play just for their own sakes
(Sadly I'm not so good that I can play pieces well without the advice of a teacher)
The thoughts came to me as I was listening to David talk to me about the pieces I played today, Barber's Pas de deux, a Scarlatti sonata and Debussy's Arabesque I. I've performed the Pas de deux in the end of term recital last semester, and the Scarlatti and Debussy are pieces I've played for quite a while.
For the Barber, I thought I had it down pretty well, but wanted to polish it a little more for possibly adding it to my senior recital (hopefully nothing happens to prevent that). When I played it in my first lesson with David, he said it was good etc etc and told me how to improve it. Today was our 4th lesson, and I played it for him for the first time since we went over it last, and well..... I got quite an unexpected reaction. Apparently it was much much much better. hahaha (yay!) And according to David I show an understanding of the structure of the piece that did not come across the first time I played it for him. (more yays) and that's the part when you KNOW it is worth taking lessons, when something that you take pride in knowing you play well becomes even better... (And with just one lesson's work on it) Not only for me, but for Melissa!
Besides, there are concepts outside the piano keys and away from your fingers that if you're prodded towards understanding, contribute sooo much to your performance, perception and skills. Jill did a lot of this with me, and David is adding to what she's already taught me.
Then of course, there is the opportunity of learning from a very good performance pianist who is also very good at teaching. (not to mention the summer when your fingers are not cold and you have more time for practicing)
the happiness and pleasure that I get from these lessons, plus my improvement is totally worth all I'm investing in it now. After all, what use is there in just playing the piece through? It may sound pretty but pretty without the understanding is just a facade, like calling something beautiful without grasping the notion of 'beauty'.
I also think the last sentence would have failed in a GP essay. hahaha. look out for more essays from now on, Xtine needs to practice for GMAT.
