Oh my poor neglected blog. I've been obsessed with my new hobby, at the expense of my old one. I’m spending every spare moment at the piano. I wake up in the middle of the night humming songs in my head. In some ways, playing the piano is much easier than blogging. With piano, you just play the notes that are already printed on the page. With blogging, it’s up to you to figure out what to put on that blank page.
But last week it was that already printed page of my piano book that frustrated me. I was learning “At Last,” a song which should be full of soul, think Etta James. The simple arrangement in my beginner piano book was competing with the Etta James version playing in my head. I tried to play what was playing in my head instead of what was written on the page, but my piano skills just aren’t advanced enough yet to achieve that sound. So all I achieved was frustration.
I explained this to my piano teacher last week at my therapy session, I mean my piano lesson. His diagnosis was that I’m ready to start learning how to improvise. He sent me home with the bare bones version of “Autumn Leaves.” It’s a page from what is known as a “fake book,” something I had only just recently learned about from my piano-playing uncle, aka, play-a-hymn-any-hymn-Jim. Jim spent his childhood piano career accompanying parishioners at Sunday morning services. He was the son of a preacher man, my grandpa.
My uncle gave up the piano several years ago when his arthritis made it impossible to keep it up. But before that, he would entertain his fellow Rotarians with old standards at their weekly meetings. Before he gave up his beautiful baby grand piano, he asked my cousins and me whether any of us wanted it. I regret to report that we all turned him down. So he gave it to the music department at U.C. Berkeley. How I wish I could play that decision over again.
Anyway, he did keep his mountains of piano books and sheet music. I just popped over there last week and combed through his stash. In the piles of paper were these fake books. I only took one of them because I didn’t really understand what they were and I couldn’t make any sense them. The songs are really just skeletons—the melody notes, chord notations, and lyrics. It’s up to the musician to improvise exactly how to play it.
So now I understand. And I’m having so much fun learning how to fill in the blanks, adding what’s in my head to what’s on the page. Just as much fun as I had when I first started writing what’s in my head onto the blank page, or blank blog screen as the case may be.
When I retired, I had no idea how much I would enjoy blogging or how much of my time would revolve around writing. I knew I wanted to pick up the piano again, but I never thought it would take me five years to get to it. And after I retired, I certainly didn't think I’d ever be interested working in my old field again, even part-time. But now I know that retirement is part advance planning and part live improvisation. And if you're comfortable with improvising, you're going to have a lot more fun.
(Several readers have made the great suggestion that I include a little description of the photos that I include in my blog posts. The photo above is Rasheed and the Jazz Collective at Washington Square Park in New York City's Greenwich Village.)
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Yes! At some point it's time to let go of plans and just go with being prepared - even if it's only mentally. Expecting life to be like it is at a job that someone's been at for XX years where you know what's going to happen or what needs to be done doesn't really work when you're totally self-directed and can do almost anything with your time. It's like a road trip where you're just heading east but not thinking about the shortest way to get there or planned around other people's "must see" stops. Imagine all those fun (unknown til you pass by) things you'd miss along the way if you planned that trip out entirely.
Posted by: Jacq | April 17, 2013 at 04:51 AM
Weird. The first word in the captcha code was "prepared". Just had a woo woo moment. :-)
Both of my sisters had a minor in music but I only got up to grade 5 before dropping out. Oddly, after that I played more than they did but was ok with not being perfect but good enough and wanting to have fun with it (and being competitive and wanting to play what they were playing). I suspect there's a pattern there. ;-)
Posted by: Jacq | April 17, 2013 at 05:06 AM
It has been a while since we heard from you Syd. I'm glad to hear that it was a respite instead of an emergency. Yeah, blogging takes time and sometimes other things get a higher priority. My two and a half acre homestead will soon be calling me away from my keyboard too. But I do enjoy getting outside so that is a good thing.
Pianos, I don't remember what they sound like but I'm sure yours makes some beautiful sounds.
Posted by: RJ | April 17, 2013 at 06:04 AM
Jacq: Yes, I like your road-trip analogy. Do you play the piano anymore now that you don't have sisters to compete with?
RJ: I am always amazed that you can keep up your twice a day posting schedule. But no one will fault you for enjoying some fresh air!
Posted by: Retired Syd | April 17, 2013 at 07:50 AM
Jacq: Oops, I didn't mean you don't have sisters anymore! Just that they aren't in your house to compete with.
Posted by: Retired Syd | April 17, 2013 at 08:00 AM
Hi Syd,
I retired early two months ago and have found your blogs inspirational, full of common sense and helped me with the right perspective. Part of retirement is having the flexibility to blog when you are ready and the joy of learning something new and finding the joy in that.
It's great that you have embraced a new avocation to explore and make it your own. I am a fiber artist and love having the time to take it further. From that perspective, obsession should be part of the fun!
Keep us informed with your journey -- its' been 2 1/2 months so far and I hope the novelty doesn't wear off.
BTB -- how DO you find time to blog? There is too much to learn!
Posted by: MiriamR | April 17, 2013 at 11:59 AM
Syd, One of the nice things about being retired is that you can do what you want rather than what you must. If that is learning the piano for now, have at it. Don't make your blogging into a "job"!
But, yes, I noticed your silent spell and had guessed you were traveling.
Posted by: dgpcolorado | April 17, 2013 at 12:17 PM
Miriam: Well congratulations! I see that you already discovered the truth about retirement--that there are still not enough hours in the day for everything. Don't worry about the novelty wearing off, if it does, you just figure out what your new obsession needs to be!
DGP: Well I wasn't traveling, but did have some other adventures besides piano playing which I will share soon. Thanks for still being there when I picked up my computer again!
Posted by: Retired Syd | April 17, 2013 at 12:27 PM
Isn’t that one of the great things about retirement is you get to go where the wind blows. Play the piano and when you get inspired, write your blog. It’s all good.
Posted by: Cathy Severson | April 17, 2013 at 12:42 PM
I love your blog. It is really helping me in my relatively new retirement.
Posted by: linda vaughn | April 17, 2013 at 12:52 PM
Only one sister left, but I bought a keyboard a few years ago and played only a bit while I was off two falls ago. Will be playing again when I'm off this fall. I think. We'll see how the novel goes this summer. The sister that died and I wrote our first novel together when we were ~ 11 and 14. I think it's time to give that another kick at the can too. YOLO! ;-)
Posted by: Jacq | April 17, 2013 at 05:55 PM
Improvising is a difficult skill to learn. We live such structured lives for so long that many of us don't know how to improvise anymore. Kids are so much better in this department. They just do whatever they feel like at any moment and life is good for them. :)
Cheers.
Posted by: retireby40 | April 18, 2013 at 08:49 AM
Cathy: Exactly!
Linda: Thanks and congratulations!
Jacq: Sorry to read that about your sister. But what a couple of child prodigies you two were!
RB40: Right you are--you should click on the related link to this post about the 12 year old piano player--talk about good at improvising!
Posted by: Retired Syd | April 18, 2013 at 09:56 AM
Hi Syd. Retirement looks different than I thought it would too. I pictured doing a lot of nothing and now I find that when I am doing things that I love to do, it is not work at all and it earns money. So I am contented and earning. Is that retirement?
Posted by: Kelly | April 20, 2013 at 08:49 AM
Syd, so great that you're actually doing this (taking piano lessons, and most importantly practicing)! Thanks for attaching the links to your blog posting. I loved the article and the video of the 12-yr-old jazz pianist - what a kick! I took piano lessons as a child and teen, and played frequently as a young adult, but have been away from it for too many years due to career, moves, and competing priorities. Your blog and the links you attached have inspired me to take start playing the piano again. Never too late to learn, or re-learn, as the case may be!
Posted by: Beth | April 21, 2013 at 09:32 AM
Kelly: Sounds like you have the best of both worlds!
Beth: That article about stress-relief is exactly how I feel about piano right now, not that I have much stress anymore! But there is something that happens to my brain when I'm playing, and so I believe what she wrote is true about the positive effect on our brains and mood. I highly recommend you jump back in, you won't regret it!
Posted by: Retired Syd | April 21, 2013 at 09:43 AM