Discoveries Old and New

I think I may blog this morning after my coffee.
Or perhaps I'll simply stroll in the garden.
Perhaps I'll book a ticket to France.
Perhaps not.
But anyways, the possibilities just open up after an incredibly busy month.
Meaning, the last few weeks of April were full of piano, work, and more piano. It all came to a head this past weekend, after which I have enjoyed long leisurely days since then, only working 2 hours since last Monday.

Never underestimate a piano players' biceps, by the way. This comment brought on by my sore arms. Try practicing every possibly moment you can, and then suddenly ceasing.
People can easily assume pianists only use their fingers, hands, and right foot. So not true! My entire body can ache after playing a particularly difficult and long piece (see bottom of post!).

So, my focus this current week has been making myself relax. After having to rush around on pure adrenaline for so quite a while, I've had to let myself take it easy. I've been filling my days with books, food, and writing. And discovering things like this:

• It is most relieving to suddenly begin tossing stuff you no longer need. It is particularly relieving to rip pages out of old high school books to toss them in a bag\box labeled 'Recycling'. It was practically therapy, in fact, when done with such enthusiasm! And now I have two dresser drawers with better purpose.
• Taking a leisurely visit to your favorite childhood haunts can also be relieving. I spent as many hours as I possibly could in the woods that surround our home on three sides. It was the place that seemed to best understand me, and I escaped there many times when the world seemed too much for a sensitive kid like me.

Plus, it's stress-lifting enough just to walk through the freshly bloomed trees and forest floor. Never underestimate the peace you can feel by simply gazing up at the sunlight filtering through the brilliant green leaves. Sometimes I think the feeling of being the only person in the world is what attracted--attracts--me so much. Peace can settle on you just by listening to the random birdsong that chimes through the trees no matter what hour of day.
That is, until I hear a lawn mower just over the hill top.
Or children screaming from a swimming pool.
I rest my case.


As aforementioned, my piano year is completed. Or, nearly, as I still have four weeks of lessons left. But Guild and the recital are over with, which leads me to remind you of this. . .

Remember when I first posted it, saying that I was learning it?
Well, I learned it, and performed it.

Next, it will be this:

Don't be scared of the lengthy title (or Beethoven's somber expression). And you don't have to listen to all 7 mintues. But it's a beautiful piano sonata, one I never knew of before this year! How did this happen??

Anyways, by this time next year, I should be able to boast being able to play this long piece.

By the way, while I'm adding all these random videos, here's one I found via Ruth:

I love it, needless to say. I bought it on iTunes, I loved it so much. Actually, I bought it on iTunes because their songs are only available in mp3 format, no cd. But there it is.