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kenjariI have been having the best time playing piano lately. Even when my playing isn't particularly stellar, I've been really enjoying it. But I think that in a way, it's my lack of a need to be the greatest pianist ever that makes playing so much fun. In general, I'm really glad that I decided to go into composition rather than piano performance. Sure, I'll never be amazing, and I'll never be able to play the Hammerklavier sonata, and I'll never be up on stage doing a concerto with a world-class orchestra. But that's okay, I'm satisfied being a pretty good pianist instead of a really great one. Sure, it would be nice to play better, but I don't feel that it's a real lack in my life. I can play well enough to be able to do the things with it I need and want to do.
And there are benefits to not being a concert-pianist type. I don't have to be competitive about my playing. There are plenty of better pianists out there, and that's cool. I can buy there recordings and go to their concerts; I don't have to be one of them. I don't have to compare myself to any of them. I get to play for myself. I learn and play whichever pieces I happen to like. I stop playing pieces that I no longer like. I practice because I want to, and because I love to play. The only requirements I need to meet are my own.
Best of all, I really can just enjoy the whole experience. Playing an instrument is such a wonderful mix of mental and physical activity. Not only does music sound good, but it often feels very good to play it. I think that's why so many pianists love Chopin. There's a certain quality to the physical sensation of playing most of his works. Even when the music is difficult, there a certain satisfaction to the way it all falls underneath the fingers, a certain rightness. Chopin's music truly was meant for the piano, and I think for the performer as much as for the listener. Chopin's music is also very beautiful. It's very emotionally rich, warm, and satisfying. The player can really put a lot of themselves into it, and the music not only lets you do that, it rewards you for it. It's the kind of music that allows the listener to really hear what the performer is putting into it not just from a physical standpoint, but from a psychological and emotional standpoint as well.
And there are benefits to not being a concert-pianist type. I don't have to be competitive about my playing. There are plenty of better pianists out there, and that's cool. I can buy there recordings and go to their concerts; I don't have to be one of them. I don't have to compare myself to any of them. I get to play for myself. I learn and play whichever pieces I happen to like. I stop playing pieces that I no longer like. I practice because I want to, and because I love to play. The only requirements I need to meet are my own.
Best of all, I really can just enjoy the whole experience. Playing an instrument is such a wonderful mix of mental and physical activity. Not only does music sound good, but it often feels very good to play it. I think that's why so many pianists love Chopin. There's a certain quality to the physical sensation of playing most of his works. Even when the music is difficult, there a certain satisfaction to the way it all falls underneath the fingers, a certain rightness. Chopin's music truly was meant for the piano, and I think for the performer as much as for the listener. Chopin's music is also very beautiful. It's very emotionally rich, warm, and satisfying. The player can really put a lot of themselves into it, and the music not only lets you do that, it rewards you for it. It's the kind of music that allows the listener to really hear what the performer is putting into it not just from a physical standpoint, but from a psychological and emotional standpoint as well.
