Reflection Paper On Piano

Gradually, I lost interest in playing piano and the time that I spent on practicing was less and less, and when I was twelve years old, I gave up. I do have musical talent, good family environment, and opportunity. Nevertheless, my attitude and laziness are the causes of my failure.

To be completely honest, I hated piano lessons for about four years. My mom enrolled me in a small piano school on the north side of town when I was about four years old. Every day I strengthened my fingers by squeezing a pink rubber ball, and my fingers were kept curved by the small pink pom-pom rabbit resting underneath them. I loved that furry little rabbit with all of my childish heart; I think that’s what kept me engaged during my elementary years.

As a music student who grew up in Asian culture, the piano was one of the most common instruments to start one's musical life. It is still hard to find the reason how this western instrument became so popular in Asian culture, but all my friends have experiences to learning piano when they were young. In contrast with the instruments such as alto saxophone or piccolo, there is no doubt that the sounds/music of piano is familiar for people and piano itself as well. There are numerous repertories for the pianist in the world, and the pianists have limitless references for their performance. Because of this reason, people tend to think that ‘Piano is not difficult to play well' or ‘Piano is simple. You can just play!'. I also thought in the same way when I was very young. However, I realized the potential complexity of the sounds that piano could make through the music at the first time when I heard this piece: Chopin's Ballade no.1 in G minor, op.23. This piece is the story of my musical life. For this assignment, I will focus on the first half part of this piece to explain how it becomes meaningful for me.

My life has always been tied to the piano in some shape or form. I can remember the first notes I ever produced. They came from a large Cable upright piano that had sat unused and out of tune for decades. From my early childhood and on my relationship with the piano consisted of nothing more than fleeting encounters. Some days I would sit down and simply play notes I thought sounded nice, but mostly the piano acted as a decoration in my home. It wasn 't until moving to Oklahoma to be with my mother 's family that anything serious developed concerning the piano. I had always been far away from my family, so when I met up with my grandmother we took the time to catch up. She mentioned that my mother used to play the piano quite well. Up until that point I had never given the piano much thought, but I began to think about my mother and all the old piano books she had accumulated from her adolescence. That set in motion my desire to learn how to play and an eventual reappraisal of the way I looked at music and the world around me.

I have always loved playing the piano since, but unfortunately the piano did not always love me.

At four years old, my mom made me take piano lessons. Given my stubborn nature as a child, I would only practice when absolutely forced by my mother. Hovering over me, she'd scream "You'll thank me later!" as I miserably sobbed while playing the G major arpeggio for the fiftieth time that night. Of course, my mom ended up being right. In ninth grade, I moved to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina to play tennis at a boarding academy and was forced to live on my own. Alone in this new environment, I turned to the one thing I had known my whole life: piano.

After about half a year, I got my answer. My family moved out of an apartment and into a house. Our old furniture and pictures were put into their places and among them was an old upright piano positioned beside the living room. It was an ancient Baldwin which hadn’t been tuned in a decade. However, it had all 88 keys and it was something I could play on. So I played. I played classical, jazz, pop, and even a bit of country. The difference was that it was my decision. I didn’t feel any obligation, just curiosity and the feeling of achievement when finishing a song. I didn’t know that the measly 15 minutes a day I spent practicing would turn into hours. I didn’t know that I would stop looking at the clock to check if I completed the allotted minutes set aside for piano practice. I stopped limiting myself and as a result, it became easier to get lost in the

But when I was about five, I was really interested as to what that big shaped box looking thing was. I remember this so clearly because I looked up at my grandmother and said, “Nana, what is this big square thing here do”, and she looked at me with a big smile and said, “That’s called a piano!” I will never forget the smile on her face when she opened the key cover off of the piano and watched me bang away. She laughed and laughed and when I was done she looked at me and said “you are truly something special and boy o boy dose your nana love you.” From that moment I have looked forward to playing the piano every day and in which I do. I look forward to seeing that smile on her face because nothing makes me happier. I have taken piano lessons for 11 years now but is this part of my story it doesn’t matter how I got to where I am with the piano, what matters is what it does for me and how it makes me feel. As a person of love and compassion, I have always felt like it was my duty to raise people when they are down, to brighten my surrounding area with words of confidence and a blinding smile. I have always felt like it was my responsibility to help people feel better and be that shoulder to lean on. But through all of that I have never felt like I have had that. Through every back stabbing moment to every falling tear, I have always had to find a way to pick myself up on my own. And the piano has helped me

Something that makes a great many people drop their piano classes is that they simply don't care for the music they're playing. You appreciate playing the piano; you simply don't care for the music you're playing. Things being what they are, the reason not transform it? Regardless of the fact that the music you like doesn't set out your

When I joined BASIS, I took the piano elective here because I wanted to try something new, and I continued it into my third year at this school. Now, I am much more talented in my piano skills than I was at the beginning of seventh grade by far.

I was raised into music. As long as I can remember, my father has been playing his guitar and singing songs ranging from lullaby’s to today’s top hits. Whenever the television was not on, my father had his guitar in his arms while he walked around the house, serenading anyone who would listen. It is from him that I get my musical ability, my keen ears that can always pick out a tune, and my deep rooted love for music. My father is the driving force that led me to the piano.

grow more complex. Through music, I welcome opportunities to expand my friendships as well as my instrumental horizons. I began studying piano at age six. For the next five years, my mother lived vicariously through my musical education, which her family had not been able to afford. In fifth grade, as I was becoming an earnest piano student, I was selected to commence violin lessons and play in my elementary school

At the age of eight, I remember vigorously pleading to my mother. The reason for my action, was to convince my parents to allow me the chance to take piano lessons.

The last part of the presentation focuses on the type of music new pianist should learn. For a beginner, it is essential to learn to play music they want to learn. Specifically, learning basic music they are interested in playing. If the learner does not want to play the song, they will become uninterested and it will deter them from playing. It is always recommended to start off with a basic songs, transition over to intermediate, and eventually to the more difficult pieces of music. (Slide 14)

Over the course of the semester, there has been numerous amount of areas where I believe I have improved in comparison to high school. What has helped me in my writing is the writing class and the in-class writing workshop. The writing class that is located in the Kremen education building has helped me with my writing greatly because in the writing center the person in charge teach us lenses and we apply those lenses to the writing, draft, or reading that someone brings in. The in-class writing workshop has helped me because other students get to read my writing. This is helpful because I get feedback from many students and they let me know what needs to be fixed. A new tool I have been using is They Say I Say. The book is very helpful because of the information and examples it provides such as the templates. I have been applying the templates into my essays and I have seen a significant difference.