I can’t remember any time when music wasn’t a huge part of my life. Although she didn’t read music, I don’t think a day passed when Mom didn’t play the piano.
We loved it. I loved it so much, in fact, that I followed in her footsteps; punishment for disobedience for me meant being banned from the piano for an hour or sometimes, an entire day.
I was in my early 30s when I made the decision to take piano lessons. It was a thrilling experience, right down to my first recital where I performed with the others in my class. (The only difference was that they were 25 years younger than I was.)
To make a long story short, I completed Grade 10 of the Canadian Royal Conservatory of Music program and to this day, music fills at least a part of each day of my life. I never had intentions of becoming a performer but I am delighted to be able to play for church services and for entertainment in our local nursing homes.
Although I admit I’m not into a lot of “modern music”, I truly enjoy a wide range of artists and artistic styles. Be it performances of Chopin, Gaither, Ravel, Schumann, Randy Travis and countless others, including even me, the thing I find most intriguing is that we all use just seven notes. Chords, tempos, structure, accidentals, semitones or any other combinations are obviously different but they’re all constructed from just seven notes.
Life at best is like that: We have little or no control over the circumstances that come our way but we do have the option as to how we use them to create the songs of our life.
“…through the night I sing his songs and pray to God who gives me life” – Psalm 42:8.
