I'm the Piano Man

Just a little personal note for today...

I've always believed that the trick to making someone interested in any instrument is to teach them a song that they know and like, even if it is the only thing they can play. After doing ridiculous exercises and scales over and over again, it's key that the budding musician can retreat to their song, learning to play it better and better as time goes on because it gives them a sense of accomplishment and is proof positive that, with a little work, playing the instrument is not an impossible task.

Unfortunately, my experimentation with the guitar has failed to net those sorts of results for me. Despite knowing several people who can actually play guitar, the hook has yet to be planted and the interest has, not surprisingly, waned.

Enter the wife and her many years of piano lessons and many years as a piano teacher.

Out of curiosity, I asked her to figure out the intro to Keane's 'Somewhere Only We Know'. It didn't sound like a difficult thing to pick up, and out of the two of us, she was the most qualified. After she figured it out (with the help of some sheet music obtained off of musicnotes.com) she then proceeded to teach it to me.

Now, I won't say that I'm starting to learn to play the piano, or that I plan on going any farther with it than I have so far, but I have to say I kind of dig being able to play the intro to the song (which I happen to love) and it has me looking at the big hunk of wood and ivory in our living room in an entirely different light.

mike