Music, Not Magic
Christina
This happens more often than you would think: as I attempt to conjure up another article for the blog, I realize that I’m no genie in a bottle, just an amateur blogger suffering from severe writer’s block. And the remedy, you may ask? Music.
Whenever, my fingers stop typing away at the keyboard, they immediately begin to reach for the black and white keys on the piano. Whether it’s the latin-influenced swing beats in the song Señorita by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello or the soothing melody of River Flows in You by Yiruma, I’m constantly exploring new pieces to play and to express my inner creativity when I no longer can express these emotions in words.
I started playing piano at the age of five. I was still in kindergarten, and the truth was that I could barely read the English language, let alone read sheet music. Nonetheless, I persisted, and watched countless fingering tutorials on YouTube in between my weekly classes with my piano instructor Casey.
My first real piece of music that I could play was Für Elise, and I was so proud of myself that I performed it at my first recital. My parents were equally proud of me, so they recorded this “masterful” performance and uploaded it to YouTube, ironically the website I was using to learn how to improve at the piano. (This video is still online and has a whopping 196 views after 9 years. Yes, I know… I’m not exactly internet famous yet.)
Throughout the years, I have challenged myself with new classical pieces like Claire de Lune by Debussy as well as contemporary pieces like Floating Clouds and Sun Rain by Tan Dun (which I proudly performed at the Civics Arts Plaza). I’ve also indulged in playing popular songs like Adele’s Someone Like You and Freya Riding’s Lost Without You for fun. (I’m obsessed with singing and playing simultaneously!)
To me, the idea of playing piano to calm, distract, and inspire me never grows old, and I guess music has done it again: it’s helped me overcome my writer’s block by providing the perfect topic to write about. At least now, I get a break from desperately rummaging my brain for a revelation.
Music is truly prevalent everywhere! Even in the underground metro systems, I hear people performing on the subways, and it really brightens up a monotonous commute.
ReplyDelete