Three days ago got back home from a week-long vacation. I was out in the woods, camping with some friends and it was everything I needed at this time. Off the grid and unplugged; a chance to unwind and recharge my batteries. (And yes, they needed recharging!!!)
I wrote a few blog posts before I went and asked my wife to post them for me throughout the week, which she did. (Mostly!). Other than that, I just checked my email once per day with the sporadic wifi that was available. I wanted to make sure that I was still there for my online piano students if they needed me, but thankfully the world can get by without any of us for a week. Thank goodness!
Anyway, since I’m like just like you, I didn’t play piano for the for the first 2 days I was home again. I had a ton of errands to do and emails to go through. (I email each of my students individually each week so that alone can take a couple of days.) But the main thing is that I didn’t feel huge need to play piano at first. Part of me was still out in the woods, and I wasn’t in a hurry to get back into it.
But on the 2nd evening, I started to miss the feeling of playing. I heard improvisations in my head and yearned to express those sounds through my fingers. So I sat down and played. And played. And played some more. I played for a few hours; Bach Inventions, free improvisations, and bebop. It felt good and there was an emotional release.
The thing about piano is that you can still play pretty well after a break. It’s not like the trumpet were the lip muscles need constant maintenance to even make a decent sound. You can go a month without playing the piano, sit down at the instrument and at least get a nice tone. But the fingers may seem stiff. Scales don’t go as smoothly and chords aren’t well-balanced. And most of all, the music doesn’t flow from our mind into the piano. We get rusty, both physically and mentally.
So if you’re like me, you need to remind yourself to get back to the piano as soon as possible after your next vacation. Or your next busy week at work. Or the next time you miss a week of practicing. Don’t delay. As the saying goes, “Just do it!” You’ll soon remember what you’ve been missing while you were away. And most importantly, you’ll re-establish your connection with your love of music and keep the flame burning and the musical thread going. For years to come.
Enjoy your playing and good luck with your music!
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Hey Ron, I just wanted to say what an amazing website you have created here and that it was not at all what I expected. I was still in early midi days, I guess, (showing my age) and thought that I would have to plug in with my midi keyboard in order to “connect up” so to speak. Lol. Anyway, I can see the value of starting with the basics of the flowing water lessons so I will continue to work with that. You have made this all simple and accessible. I will really enjoy practicing some new things and getting to accompany my daughter, SallyAnn and see what she thinks.
Thank you so much and I do appologize for my lateness into the class but I’m really glad I have been able to make it.
Janine