Monday, April 27, 2009

renewed dreams of an ex-pianist.

Rick and I both play the piano... sort of. I took lessons all growing up, and of course whined and moaned about practicing every day. I think I spent more time moseying on over to check the timer, praying that the 30 minutes would be up than actually playing the piano.

I made a deal with my mom that I could quit piano once I learned every hymn in our church's hymnbook. Unfortunately, I got busy enough with high school to quit before I reached that goal. And that is why I can play hymns 1 through 30 perfectly; the other 311 are a struggle.

Oh, how I wish I could play every hymn, and lots of other songs, too! Then, when suddenly a pianist is needed at church, I wouldn't have to ask, "um, what song? Hymn 31? Oops, out of my range." (The funny thing is, Rick will raise his hand anytime a pianist is needed, even though his abilities are about equal to mine. Then I get so worried that he's going to embarrass himself that I end up volunteering for him, and I'm the one who gets to blunder through the song.)

Anyway, my piano woes will soon be over. I can finally complete my dream of learning every hymn in the book.

I up and bought a piano.

The idea came to me, I clicked on over to Craigslist, checked out any pianos in the area under 200 bucks, and immediately found THE ONE. The phone call to the owner confirmed my feeling that this piano was it; she lives a half mile down the street! So now, just days later, I can go and play the piano anytime I want! Well, anytime I don't have a baby needing to be fed or held or changed, or a toddler needing to be played with or comforted or taught to color only on the paper or... well, I don't get to play that much. But when I do, I'll start with hymn number 31.

piano playing
Carson and I playing our new piano.

piano
It's nearly a hundred years old, from 1920. Ivory keys. And it still sounds ok!


It's heavy. Thanks, guys!!!


One more thing...I don't know if I have the guts to do this, but I really want to paint the piano some crazy color, like one of these:



Should I do it??

14 comments:

Jewels said...

Definitely! I think it would look great if you painted it a bright color! Good luck with your piano skills! One day I will buy a piano and get better too - I was like you and didn't appreciate piano lessons when I was younger.

Andrea said...

Of course!!!! I like the red one

JenSwen said...

Awesome! Of course I'm totally excited that you bought a piano. And that you have the desire to learn all the hymns. It's so cool that your piano has real ivory keys too. (Craigslist is the best!) I think painting it a fun color is a great idea - those pianos in the pictures look really good!

Melissa S. said...

Yea, that piano IS deceiving........Brooks said it was so stinking heavy.
Why not paint it. It's not like a family heirloom (yet) or anything.

Holly and Derek said...

You should totally paint it! It would look fabulous!

Lynnie said...

Heck yes. If it's weird you can always go back to black. Light blue? To go with your theme? Or just totally accent the heck out of it and pick one not on your pallet. Like hot pink. :)

Erika said...

You go girl. I think every home should have a piano in it. That's awesome you want to develop your talents and hopefully will be able to pass that on to your boys. I decided long ago that music lessons were going to be a part of my children's lives whether they liked it or not. It's so important and helps them in so many ways. We treat it like it's just part of their education. I'm glad you want to paint your piano, because that's the first thing I thought when I saw the first picture of it. Although I wasn't thinking a bright color, I was thinking a distressed black would look cool. But I love the bright colors after seeing pictures. I'd choose the red just because it's my favorite color and would go better with my decor.

Sara said...

oh page! I love it! Definitely paint it, something bright and totally unexpected :-)

enemith00 said...

Go for it Page, you're crafty enough to make it look awesome, not ridiculous like I would :)

Britni said...

You should definitely paint it a color. And then remind me that I should play my piano every once in a while. I'm with you on about 30 of the hymns...the ones that everyone knows.

Meg said...

I ditto everyone else on the color, I think you have the crafty touch to make it look wonderful! That is really exciting - I quit shortly after mastering the "easy version" of the entire Phantom of the Opera book and definitely can relate to the regret of wishing I hadn't quit so soon! (Although at the time, I too was a timer checker!!) Very exciting... maybe one of your boys will be a future pianist!

The Hills... said...

We did the same thing and bought a really old piano. I love it! I've had similar thoughts about painting it, but have asked around and heard it is really hard! You have to sand the entire thing and it takes for-ever to paint and get even coats! But, if you're in for a big project! Go for it!

Marge said...

DO IT DO IT DO IT! Can't wait to see the finished product, we all know you'll do it!

taylor and laney said...

I'm going to go out on a limb and say not to paint the piano. As a pianist, pianos are about the piano, not about the color. I think it is beautiful as it is and the marks add way more character than a coat of paint. Plus, it alters the sound, and what if you drop some in the keys. I'll agree it would look cool, but all about the worked in look. So, I guess that's 13 Yeses and 1 No.