To see people come together for a vision you’ve pieced together in your head is one of the best presents you can give yourself. Here are some of the highlights to producing my latest event– I had two months to pull this off, in the middle of summer. I didn’t cough blood this time.
Please don’t tell me I’m strong. I can’t believe it when dishes are cluttering up the sink, clothes are strewn around my room, 30 urgent emails go unanswered, and I’m not talking to one of my best friends. I can’t help dwelling on that one negative comment even when there are a hundred positive ones on my blog.
“Why are you wearing sandals?” “I’m dressing for what I want the weather to be,” I say. “Not what it is.” Megs and I inch our umbrellas closer to cross the street. I’ve collected some lazy summer songs, inspired by a cabaret-style performance I recently attended. These are great for jamming with a friend (or sister, in my case) as there’s piano and vocal, and most are easy to learn.…read more
Grand, flowing, and fast. There is something to be said about an intricate melody, where a person can bang on the piano. When I shared my favourite piano solos, readers shared their beautiful favourites– here are some of the most popular piano solos from the community. Would you play any of these?
These days, I only think about attending church when in need of kindness. Like, if I feel that I’ve let people down; but today, I’d rather hunt for Easter eggs. Which brings us to passion projects. A passion project gives you a glimpse into how a person manifest interests, takes control in an area they believe in. (Only new mothers are allowed to have “my kid” as a passion…read more
While most people can play piano in their room, the magic of the stage can be too much to handle. Ten minutes before my design event, my hands were shaking at the thought of people having woken up on a Saturday morning because of me. I’d printed cue cards (which I have never done, and will likely never do again).
If you’re like me, a state of busy-ness doesn’t keep you away from music. In fact, it might turn you towards music for slight refuge. Today, I’d like to share some light and expressive piano pieces I’m itching to play this summer, plus my first composition in a long time (really, it’s more of a music sketch). Some of this might be considered “pop music.”…read more
My piano teacher would pretend to barf when I botched a piece of music. She’d say that Beethoven would rise from his grave to strangle me, her favourite question being all variations of, Why? Why would you play the rhythm this way? Why are you crying? She was in her fifties and was to undergo surgery for those large, glaring eyes. We’d clap sonata rhythm for half an hour and she’d say, “I don’t know…read more
Some people scour meetups like vultures. Others are allergic to events because they are socially awkward. In any case, events are becoming more valuable as we are seek human connection. In January, I wanted to create community. “I’m producing an event,” I said. It’s almost absurd– I’m the person who finds every excuse to not show up at events. This is the start of a girl’s story, who tries to make a…read more
Asian music was based on the pentatonic scale. This was true for Chinese music, at least. I spent hours copying characters in Chinese school, and although the same pen strokes require more effort now, I can look back to that time of utter dedication for filling the square boxes with unending characters. It was like drilling music. On Chinese New Years’ Eve, I’d booked a string of meetings…read more