1,000 Days of Piano - Day 111: Light-Hearted

Music is serious business, I know. It takes discipline, diligence, practice, skill, and knowledge. We musicians are Artists. We express joy, pathos, passion, and tragedy through our art. We pour ourselves into our work, and, if the muse is kind, it might begin to approach something like mastery. At the very least it is something that does not bring shame down upon our heads.

That does not mean that we can’t be light-hearted about it. I can wander into my studio, seat myself dreamily at my instrument and play...a Bach invention, the opening theme song from “Gilligan’s Island,” or Baby Shark. I sat down several months ago and idly played the four opening bass notes of “Aaron Burr” from Hamilton, and my daughter impishly called out right on cue, “1776.” I’ve had piano students break out into the ominous strains of the music from Jaws when learning about half steps. (Or maybe I just used that goofing off moment as inspiration for teaching.) In any case, those moments of whimsy are sometimes the best and moment imaginative moments for the Artist. They remind me that I can be more light-hearted in my creativity.