Music

Several years ago, I bought a keyboard so that I could make music on my boat. I also had a guitar at one time, a flute, and a violin, but aside from the guitar, I never got into the other instruments, even though I had played the viola in school. After awhile, I even  found playing the guitar too difficult. My fingers hurt pressing the strings and my hands were not big enough to grip the neck of the instrument to make well sounding chords. So the keyboard was brought on board and I downloaded some music to play. I used to have a baby grand and took lessons at the conservatory when I lived in Poland, so even though the keyboard is a good quality one, it never sounded like the real thing. And so, after a winter of struggling to make music, I gave up. I was not happy with my progress and I was not happy with the keyboard. I wanted to play at the level where I left off 30 years ago but I had forgotten many of the pieces I knew then. I didn't want to practice, I wanted to play.

And then, this past winter, I once listened to an old man play a very old piano in a bistro by a canal in Cieszyn, my hometown. The piano was out of tune and some of the keys were not even hitting the strings unless you struck them very hard. I tried playing it when the old man was outside on a smoke break and found it impossible. Yet the old man played the wreck and played it well. He played with such deep feeling that I felt envious. That evening unknowingly the old man taught me a big lesson. Play the instrument you have. Learn to manage its faults. Play as well as you can. And most importantly, play with feeling at the level you are. Make even the simplest melody into a concert piece.

I looked the old man up on the internet later on and found out that he was a distinguished music professor at a university. 

And so, when I returned to my boat, I pulled out the keyboard, bought some new batteries for it and learned how to play with feeling. 

More afogato,  this time with vanilla ice-cream.

Miltos Paschalidis

Tonight, we are being treated to a concert by this Greek musician. He and his band set up a stage on a nearby beach, so there is no need for us to leave Eidos. We can hear the music from the cockpit for free. 

A story of the violinist

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I received this interesting story from my good friends Nancy and Rich, and it is a reminder to slow down and appreciate the beauty around us during this frenetic time of year. A Violinist in the Metro A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work. The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on. In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100. This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context? One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing? Take time to see beauty. Happy New Year. Barbara P.S. Click on the title to read the whole story.

Musica

Mas musica

We had an unexpected musical evening in the courtyard of the youth hostel where I was staying.

Musica guitara - Michael Bouchard

This is Michael Bouchard, a wonderful guitarist living in San Miguel de Allende.