As a kid, my parents encouraged me to be involved in a ridiculous amount of activities – from soccer, to theatre, to dog training. Piano lessons also had their place in my young life, although I must admit I was often less than enthusiastic about the amount of practicing required for this particular extracurricular. My mother’s insistence that I practice at least four times a week on top of my weekly lessons made playing the piano feel like a chore to my eight-year-old self. When my activity schedule became overwhelming to the point where I needed to take something out, piano lessons unfortunately were one of the first to go. At the time, I took more interest in group activities such as drama and sports than solitary music lessons. Little did I know how much I would regret that decision later in life.
Fast-forward to Christmas 2010. My number one request to Santa? A keyboard. Recently I’ve been experiencing what you might call a personal renaissance. I suppose it has something to do with a renewed appreciation for my time spent alone, pursuing personal interests like art and reading on my own time. Or maybe I was anticipating the upcoming isolation which accompanies long winters. Whatever the reason, I decided it was time to play some piano again.
Since I’m from Seattle and wasn’t interested in lugging a keyboard on the plane back to school, I turned to my old stand-by: Craigslist. I’m a big advocate of buying used, and Craigslist never fails to deliver on finding bargains for whatever you happen to be looking for. When I got back to Boston after winter break, I set to perusing the online classifieds for my new set of keys. I settled on a very reasonably-priced Casio, something simple I could play around with.
I’m not going to lie, I was a bit apprehensive about testing my abilities on the piano again. After all, I’d only played a few times over the past five years, and knew I wouldn’t be at the same level as when I left off. But when I finally got my hands on my Christmas gift, I couldn’t have been more excited to revisit those lessons I mastered years ago. I wish I could say that playing piano is like riding a bike: Something you can jump back on after a few years’ hiatus without any problems. Maybe some people have that sort of relationship with their musical instruments, but that has not been my experience with the piano.
I enjoy having a keyboard in my room. I value having something to pull me away from the deathly grips of the Internet and repeats of “The Office.” But that’s not to say I haven’t felt a bit frustrated with the revitalization of my old hobby. It takes me some time to relearn songs that I once knew by heart, and I no longer have the luxury of my family’s extensive collection of sheet music – it is surprisingly difficult to find piano arrangements without purchasing them. While guitarists have the luxury of looking up almost any tab they could dream of on the Internet, I have spent hours scouring websites and libraries to find songs I want to play.
These two inconveniences aside, my reunion with music has been gratifying. I’m delighted that I took the initiative to start something up again that had faded into my childhood memories. It makes me thankful that my mother once forced me to practice my scales before dessert. I know that everyone has to pick and choose their hobbies, and we don’t have time to undertake every interest we’ve ever had. But if you’ve been considering picking up a new instrument or revisiting an old one, then stop making excuses or putting it off and just go for it. It’s never too late to start (or restart).
– Annie Henderson can be reached at [email protected].
