1,000 Days of Piano - Day 35: Practical

I may have the soul of an artist—a creator, a musician, and a writer—but at some point I have to be practical. Someone has to do the dishes and the laundry and sweep the floors. Oh, I can laugh and say that what the children are for, but we all know how it is. If you want something done right, do it yourself. It’s a terrible leadership philosophy, but there’s a grain of truth in there somewhere, however microscopic. It’s the classic artists dilemma. You went to devote yourself to your craft, but, alas, you have to eat.

Brilliant are the dreamers who can spin their inspiration into gold. Some channel their creativity into that which is useful and comfortable—home baked bread, hand knitted sweaters, herb gardens, and risotto. The rest of us burn the toast while composing poetry...or in my case, bad poetry. Balance is the only answer I’ve ever found to this conundrum. And balance is as elusive to the artist as the glow of twilight before it fades into darkness or bursts into sunrise.

1,000 Days of Piano - Day 34: Model T

This Bach Gigue is beautiful and brilliant and is to be played as though you’re driving a Corvette. Right now, I’m playing it like a Model T...or maybe a horse drawn carriage. If you’re wondering, a gigue is a lively dance—a jig with a French accent. This is, as I tell my students, more like a dance lesson than an actual dance. That is the kindest thing I can say about this performance. At least it didn’t fall apart.