I decided on Amazing Grace because it looked enjoyable to play. And easy. And fun! Before playing the song, I looked at the written music. If I found a difficult section, I’d circle it. That usually helps. I also write the fingerings in, so when I start playing things go smoothly. After looking over the written music, I put my fingers to the piano to see what I could do. I suck at piano. Things didn’t go smoothly at all. Even after all that time spent looking at the music, it took me quite some time to get everything together. I played the right hand part first, drilled what I circled, and played the right part over again. I did the same sort of thing with the left part. Then I tried playing both right and left at the same time. I’m used to playing in one direction at a time, not two at once. Playing in two directions at the same time drives me crazy. Any way, me playing two hands at once was like two worlds colliding. It was a disaster of epic proportions. Regardless, I drilled the music until I got it down. After getting a good idea of the song, I applied dynamics until it sounded nice and pretty. I never want to hear this song again. Or do I? The end.

…Or is it? Here’s my late concert review! I went to the faculty showcase about a month ago. I’ll talk about my PMI’s performance. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a concert program so I have no way of knowing the name of the piece he played. Three weeks ago I asked the lady at the front desk for a copy of the program, but she just laughed. Anyway, Dr. Jones was amazing. Let me explain how his performance was relevant to the assignment. He had piano accompaniment! I’ll talk about Dr. Monson’s piano playing. Whenever I see her play, I can’t help but feel I’m seeing ancient sorcery at work. She puts her heart and soul into the piano. Her fingers glide, convulse, and dance over the keyboard. Her playing sounds heavenly as well. Far beyond my comprehension and skill level. She knows the damn piano, and she knows it well. I don’t. So I really can’t say much else. Their performance was fantastic. I’m glad that I managed to see and hear it.