Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Talk or Play- I'm picking play

So if you are a completely talkative person, it is often nice to discover that the talkative person in fact has another voice.  For me, that voice is the piano.  Whatever I am playing, on any given day, the music speaks the words, I somehow cannot say.

The other evening, I was playing two of Bach's little preludes, 4 and 6.  4 has always been my favorite.  My husband Mark, had just lost a dear co-worker, and I think playing both of these little works, allowed me to express the profound sadness I have been feeling since she died on August 12.  Sometimes crying only takes you so far, but when playing music, any music, you can bring sort of an order to your grief.  It gives you a chance to say, for this song, this minute, this day, I am going to play with feeling, and think about the profound worth of this person.

About three months ago, I bought the piano music to the Broadway musical Beautiful.  The musical showcases the works of Carole King.  In looking at the book, it is still amazing to realize what a prolific songwriter, and composer she is.  The first song in the book is So Far Away.  Of course that song is not too challenging to sight read, so that is a good thing.  I think when I play that ballad, it allows me to focus on the fact that one of my children, Sarah lives out of state, and my other child Michael, is considering and is close to move out of state as well.  The song sort of laments about the fact that people don't stay in one place anymore.  That very idyllic existence that was part of my parents' world, and even mine for the first 31 years of my life has changed.  Growing up in northwest Detroit in the 1950s and 60s, everyone was from Detroit, and everyone seemed to stay in Detroit.

But with the 20-something-early 30 something population, moving on is the order of the day.  So Carole King's lamenting So Far Away, addresses both the concerns you have when your children move on, but also addresses the profound love you have for those who are no longer physically close.