Making My Own Music

Yipee! Sorry for being inactive for soooo long. Now I have the chance to blog again. Yay!!

These past few weeks I have been practicing quite a lot for my very first, must-be-memorized classical piece, Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, 1st movement. 

And practice I did.

It took me a day and a half to memorize the piece (the notes, which were quite easy because of the recurring patterns and the 6/8 meter), two days for the phrasing part (meaning I must tell my fingers, particularly my wrists, to be gentle, ALL THE TIME, which was really very hard for me to do), and 3 days for the dynamics (loud, soft and super soft — and I’m not kidding).

All in all, it took me 6 1/2 days to completely memorize it.

The hardest part of this piece would be the interpretation that I would put to it, but … let’s see what happens. 

I regret to tell you people that I would not be able to upload a video of this my piano jury performance for you to observe (and critic, a lot, maybe). 

Hayy … may God bless me. ^^

Moonlight is TODAY!! :)

P.S For you people who are real curious how Moonlight Sonata sound like (or if you’ve never heard of it *poor you*, here’s a video of Wilhelm Kempff, a German pianist, playing Moonlight Sonata’s 1st movement.) The piece is a bit dark, and, well, melancholy. But I hope you disregard the pessimism and listen very well. I’m sure you’ll appreciate it as much as I really did. Whew! That was a long P.S

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6txOvK-mAk

[This is a really quick post. Made this in 5 minutes. ‘Cause I’m kind of late na po, so bye for now!]

Late Update (October 14, 2010): I PASSED!!! ^^

But somehow, that is what events happening in my life are leading me to become.

I really do not know where it all started. Or even what prompted me to consider exploring this unknown land. But exploring I did. 

As far as I remember, it all started when I read a book in music, containing basic lessons such as notes, rests, and the like. I quickly learned all the basic elements of music, probably because of my desire to be like the other kids who, at their age, are showing excellent skill. Continuous practice times at the piano only fueled my desire to learn more. And this was when I was in 2nd year high school, probably near the end of my sophomore year.

Almost all of these are “probablys” — because I really cannot recall how it all started. It seems as though it was just a natural event for me. Or a gold mine waiting to be discovered. Or whatever. I can’t even understand myself. 

2 years passed before I had my very first piano lesson. Imagine the joy I had when I learned how to play Jingle Bells without mistakes! I can’t help but recall those joyous moments when even a single piece played without any mistakes brought out the kid in me. Someone even commented, “Oh, tama na yan. Isang pyesa pa lang natutunan mo, ganyan na reaksyon mo? Paano kapag dumami na? Palagi ka nang ma-heart attack sa tuwa.” (Oh, that’s enough. You’ve just learned one piece, and that is how you react? What will happen if you learn more? You’ll always have a heart attack for joy).

Months passed, and I became even more hooked in the piano. I easily spent countless hours at the piano just practicing, not even noticing that I had spent half a day at that black chair, thumbing through numerous pieces, aware of the difficulty that lies ahead, but still going on. There will be no stopping now.

Even now, I still have to learn. Many people are saying that I learn really fast at the piano, but now that I learn more, I still discover many flaws on my piano playing that I had unconsciously taken for granted. These things are being continually honed and trained, and I am very grateful that I am learning it all now, and not in another time of my life, for I am now learning to love this side of my life.

How can I ever express these feelings of mine? How can I help people to understand these, and to communicate it to them in a manner that they can understand? These are what I still need to know, and develop, before I even embark on the journey — my journey — of making (and loving) my own music.  

Talk about bad luck. (Hey, you’re breaking your own tenet. Aren’t you an enemy of bad luck, or specifically, LUCK? Gotcha.)

Oh…yeah. I don’t believe in luck. Never even.

But it kept bugging me this morning because of what happened. I find it unexplainable, but — oh, well. Here it is.

I woke up at about 8 am, still tired but happy that today is a FREE day. Today is Quezon City day, which means only one thing — a day off from the fun but oftentimes gruesome schoolwork. I got out of bed, and proceeded to our dining room (which is also our living room) and started to eat breakfast. 

As usual, I had to wait in line before I could take a bath, one of the eternal consequences of having 5 siblings (and ALL of them girls). So I had to wait for another hour and-a-half to have my turn.

After they finished, and just as I was preparing to go to our bathroom — wonder of wonders — the light went off. I had just entered when I saw that the light switch wasn’t working. I called on my mom to ask her and she said that she may have to buy a replacement bulb for our bathroom. Oh my.

So I was forced to light a candle and use it as my guiding light while I am taking a bath. I’m not used to doing this (and I don’t even relish the thought), but I am left with no choice. Either bathe with the flickering light of the candle or stink in your house for a day. Or maybe more.

I just wish that we could buy a replacement the soonest possible time. I don’t think I can handle prolonged baths without the light. Oh, and just as I finished bathing, I instinctively pressed the light switch, which obviously didn’t had an effect. I was getting pissed all the more. 

Anyways, a candle is much better than a flashlight. But a simple light bulb is still the best.

God give me strength.

P.S. And thanks for my sister for delaying my very first trouble-stricken blog post for almost an hour. You will not be forgotten, sis. Remember that.