Piano 101

Out of an impulse, I decide to learn piano. It’s not only about acquiring a new hobby, but it also adds a new dimension to life, my wishful thinking. My instructor is a young graduate student. I met her three weeks ago at our chorus. She was our accompanying pianist.

At three o’clock this afternoon, I arrived at Yi-hwa’s place. Our first lesson began with correct sitting posture and finger movements. Somehow it reminded me of the catwalk training I had a few years ago. Always keep in mind to Walk Tall & Walk Straight. Then I learned to place my fingers on the keyboard to grasp at the keys to make the sound in the most relaxed way. First, I laid ten fingers on ten different keys to make sound simultaneously. Then I worked on individual fingers, starting with the thumbs, followed by small fingers, index fingers. Small fingers were difficult. They became paralytic at once.

Index fingers were not obedient, because of the nerves between index fingers and middle fingers. It is important to play piano with only DIP( the distal inter-phalangeal joint between the distal phalanx and middle phalanx), not PIP (the proximal inter-phalangeal joint between the middle phalanx and proximal phalanx). It was the first time I realized how little I know of my fingers. It was the first time I realized how valuable my ten fingers were. Now I can tell if a person plays a piano by the way she or he holds the coffee cup.

Being a right-handed person, I thought my right hand could learn piano faster than left hand. It turned out the other way around. My left hand was more relaxed and more natural. My right hand was constantly waiting for the signal from the left brain. From the first piano lesson, I also knew my brain through my finger movement.

Learning piano will be a long journey. Before I get accustomed to playing piano with fingertips, I need to convert myself into a robot, just play without too much thinking of where and how to put my hands on the keyboard. In no time, I shuld be very good at caressing with my fingers. I can hear every sound at my fingertip.