I don't think I've ever said how I came to learn piano, so that is what this post will be about. When I was around seven years old, I got one of those little learn-by-color keyboards. I learned short songs and really enjoyed playing.
The next year, I got a 21-key piano and started "composing" little pieces, and then figuring out folk songs. I never thought too much about piano.
When I was ten and a half, my mom and my siblings and I were going to meet up with some other homeschoolers. One of the homeschooling moms knew how to play the keyboard a bit, and she decided she would teach me what she knew. So I started the next week. I remember clear as day, that the song was Rain, Rain Go Away. I practiced a bit, and then would have to practice it throughout the week for the next "lesson." When that next lesson came, she was amazed for some reason, because I remembered it all (I know, it sounds kind of funny since that's a little song). So I continued to learn short songs, and then one day not long after, she said to me,"Alright, do you want to continue with the First Pieces or do you want to go onto Primer Level?" And I answered,"I'd love to try Primer Level!" And so it was.
I remember this one day, I was at church in Sunday school, there was a piano in the room and a girl was playing it. That piece sounds sooo beautiful! I thought. I didn't find out what the name was. On a certain day, I was on the computer, looking for that song on gmajormusictheory.org, listening to every song they had on there. And then I came across a piece called Moonlight Sonata--the piece that girl was playing! I became so excited! I started looking up tutorials on how to play it on Youtube (I didn't know how to read sheet music then). I had been practicing on that 21-key piano, and it sure was not going to work for playing Moonlight Sonata. But I still tried. I learned a little bit of it, and one day I was playing some of it, and my teacher said,"Is that Moonlight Sonata?" And I said,"Yeah. I really want to learn it." I continued trying to learn it, and then I was told that I would be getting a 61-key piano! When it arrived, I started practicing right away. And guess what? Moonlight Sonata happened to be one of the built-in songs on the piano, in which you could learn! Of course, it was a shorter and transposed version, but I didn't care.
Not too long after, my mom told me that there would be a homeschooling graduation at our church. My teacher asked the lady who was in charge if me and some of the other girls who were learning piano could play at the graduation. She said we could, and I right away said I wanted to play Moonlight Sonata. My teacher didn't seem to really think I could learn it in time, but I knew I could. Time went by. And guess what? I did learn it. When it was the day of the homeschooling graduation, I wasn't feeling very nervous. I was ready to play Moonlight. My turn came up at the piano. I played it, full confidence, looking at all the kids taking their place on the seats. I was happy. I achieved my goal.
By the time I was eleven, I was no longer learning piano anymore. We stopped meeting with the other homeschoolers. I couldn't read music too well, but I did have a sheet that identified most of the notes. I didn't know music theory though, so I had trouble with music. I decided to learn music the way I learned Moonlight Sonata: visually. I could remember almost anything on the piano once I played it. It just stayed it my head somehow. I learned a little Bach and some other songs.
And here's when piano changed for me. I got a teacher who actually knew how to play piano good. She taught me so much, and my piano skills strengthened. By the time I was thirteen, I knew how to read music. I knew treble clef more than bass clef. But anyway, I started learning Etude in E Major by Chopin. I remember saying,"This is the hardest piece I've ever done!" It was challenging for me at the time. That was truly when music changed for me, because right after I learned that piece, I started composing real music. Sure, I didn't have too many techniques at the time, but I tried to compose as best as I could. Reading about composers really encouraged me to learn harder pieces of music. But here's when piano actually got challenging for real: I started learning the real Moonlight Sonata. I thought my fingers had a lot of strength by then, but I sure was wrong. It hurt as if I never played piano before. And you're probably wondering, How did you learn Moonlight Sonata? Well, the answer is Youtube! Another tutorial. Ah, great Youtube, such a help.
So more time went on. Now we're approaching the present. I composed more music, learned harder pieces--all that. And then I had an idea: why not upload my music to Youtube, like a lot of pianists do? And that's what I did. Sure, I'm not a popular person on there, and yes, I get some dislikes, but I do work hard on my music. Beethoven is my favorite composer, not only because some of his music is pure genius, but because he wasn't exactly a child prodigy. He was really gifted, but not a child prodigy. And that's what I want to show other people: you don't have to be a child prodigy or very gifted to play piano well. You can be a normal person.
I don't have a teach at the moment, but I hope to get one! I want to get even better. I want to bring glory to God, not myself. Right now I started working on Beethoven's Tempest Sonata. I really like that one! And I want to compose something.
I hope you enjoyed my piano story, and I hope you were encouraged! :)
Until next time!
--Viviana
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