D I A N N E P L A Y S P I A N O

2012-02-09T09:49:00.000-08:00

Blessed Assurance arranged by Robert Sterling

2010-11-16T16:30:00.001-08:00

choose 1, 2, or 3

Fireproof

2009-04-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

I just watched Fireproof the movie this evening. I figured since I wrote about the Shack, this movie deserves attention too. It took me a few minutes to get past the awkward vibe I got from the actors, and of course the southern accents which struck me strange since it was set in Albany - isn't that New York? Anyway after several minutes I got used to the actors and accents and began to care about the characters. And then my favorite thing happened - they started portraying real men! The kind you can love and respect. The kind who are willing to "man up" and do the right thing even when it looks and feels like failure. The man was not portrayed as the "bad guy" for a refreshing change. And then I really fell in love with the movie. It's all about saving your marriage and honoring your marriage commitment. It's all about the love and forgiveness that can only come from Christ. It's real and gritty and portrays real life attitudes and real life conversations and even the kinds of things that dreams are made of without being hokey or fake. Every married person should see this movie. Now I'm going out to buy a copy of "The Love Dare".

What's up with March??

2009-03-03T20:53:00.001-08:00

I cannot believe I am saying this but it really does seem like in my life the month of March is cursed or something. Here we go again. In my March blog from last year I pointed out all the major things that happened in March. Brad was born (good, for the most part ... teehee), Kelly was killed, and my mom died.

Then a couple of years ago I got this crazy idea to do piano accompaniment for solo ensemble competitions for local high school kids and that takes place in March. For the most part this is a really fun thing that I love to do, but it is somewhat stressful and it's this Saturday and as usual I do not feel prepared. But come 8 am Saturday morning I will be playing 27 different songs whether I feel fully prepared or not.

If that's not enough my wonderful husband has been having a few health issues and the doc has decided some of them can easily be solved by removing his gallbladder. And you guessed it - this will also happen in March. As a matter of fact it's this Thursday - which just adds to my stress level since I can't really cancel playing for 27 kids. Gallbladder must be like appendix and tonsils - what are they really good for if they can come out so easily and quickly and in the meantime just give you misery? I say good riddance to it! As a matter of fact I said good riddance to mine about 27 years ago and I haven't missed it a bit.

And now they changed Daylight Savings Time to this Sunday?? What next?? At least this year Easter is back in April where it belongs.

What happened to January?

2009-01-31T15:12:00.000-08:00

In a flash it was just well, gone! What did I do? Where was I? I have nothing to show for it. I don’t even have much of a recollection of it. I mean 31 days and I can really only account for the Sundays. I know where I was and what I was doing on those days at least. But that is only 4 days, what happened to the others?

One of those 4 days had an impact on me. My minister said something very profound that really grabbed me on one of those Sundays. He spoke about the 3 B’s of Christianity. Believing, belonging and becoming. I like it. It reached me. I believe in Christ, I belong to Christ, but then the “R” word – the responsibility of the relationship – the final B is becoming Christ-like. That’s a tough one. He said we are all in those B’s somewhere but we shouldn’t get stuck in the first one. It’s been a long time since I have worried about grades and letters, but I am so glad I got those 3 B’s.

But honestly I get an “F” for January. I know I was dealing with the whole furniture and redecoration issue, and I know that Mike and I became ‘24’ addicts by starting at season 1 and watching all the way through to season 5. I cooked, I cleaned, I poked around the internet but January just disappeared right out from under me. How often does that happen? Is it a sign of age? Is it even a valid question? Is anyone else wondering what happened to January?

KAMIKAZE CAROLING

2008-12-16T20:48:00.000-08:00

Four years ago I began singing in a mixed a cappella group. Each year at Christmas we are invited to sing at several different Christmas parties as part of the entertainment. But the biggest part of our time is spent in what we laughingly call “kamikaze caroling”. That means we will make rounds at several nursing homes and hospitals. We are always well received and it is obviously appreciated. We usually just go up and down the halls or stand at the nursing stations. Usually people will stop what they are doing. Some join in singing. Some clap and cheer us on. Some follow us to the next stop and listen to the same songs over and over. What always gets to me are the ones that cry. For whatever reason – maybe it’s a particular song that elicits a sad emotion. Or it’s just a deep appreciation that someone cares enough to put out the effort. Whatever the case we always enjoy ourselves, feel appreciated and leave knowing we lifted the spirits of some of the patients and family.

We always stop in a few restaurants to sing and after the employees get over the shock and disbelief they always receive us well and are glad for the distraction and even the disruption. One of the stops we made was to a Quiznos Sandwich Shop. The owner is from India or somewhere similar and he was so excited and appreciative that he treated us to drinks out of his cooler. We also went to an outlet mall. It was just sort of random. It started because one of the girls that sang with us last year was working in one of the stores and we wanted to surprise her. We sure did surprise her, but it was an even bigger surprise to us. Everywhere we went people pulled out their cell phones and cameras and began recording us or taking pictures. We went into a Ghirardelli Chocolate store (yeah, you know why) and we were amazed at the shoppers treating us to their candy purchases. Of course all the children we encountered watched us out of curiosity, but the adults watched us out of amazement and confusion. I suddenly realized most people have never seen Christmas carolers. As a matter of fact I have never seen any. We continued along at the outlet mall, choosing stores at random. We mostly chose stores that seemed busy so we could reach more people. We stopped in a Yankee Candle store and I have never seen anything like the reaction. They wouldn’t let us leave. We sang every song we knew. Shoppers and employees alike stopped what they were doing and begged us to continue. Time after time people stopped in their tracks in total amazement that we were actually standing there in front of them singing. We even went into a Burger King and I thought one of the workers was going to pass out. You could just see them thinking they should pinch themselves to make sure it was real. This has probably happened every year, but this year I really noticed it more. And at some point it stopped being a gift I was giving and became a gift I was receiving.

Each year we begin rehearsing every Sunday night from September till the first weekend of December. Then we spend those first two weekends of December – both Saturday and Sunday making our rounds. Every year we joke because there is always a snow storm – usually both weekends. My husband always says “oh, look at the forecast – it’s gonna be really bad weather – that must mean Common Thread is singing”. Each year I am excited to begin and exhausted and tired of it at the end. But this year was special. This year somewhere along the way it became a gift to me. It will hold a special place in my heart for years to come. The Christmas spirit truly descended on me.

Sing some carols - Merry Christmas.

Stand by Me

2008-12-02T06:13:00.000-08:00

This video is the song Stand by Me played by musicians around the world involved in the Playing For Change Foundation. This group is dedicated to connecting the world through music by providing resources to musicians and their communities around the world. You can find out more about them at their website: http://www.playingforchange.org/. The video is 5:27 long, but well worth a listen.

The vote

2008-10-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

I don't know what to do. I guess I really don't even want to vote this year. I haven't felt this way since 1988 when it was between the good Bush and Dukakis. I wound up voting for Bush and that came out ok. Even though now that I look back Dan Quayle should have really scared me. Of the candidates and their running mates I guess the only one I could force myself to vote for would be Beiden, but he scares me too. I don't even want to talk about Palin, I so wanted to get on board with her. I would have definitely voted for Hilary even though I am not certain I am completely ready for a female president. I guess I could always vote for Chuck Baldwin, but I can't really see a "Chuck" in office either. And of course, he's just as scary as the other two. But in all honesty I don't think any of them are presidential material any more than I am. Where have all the good men gone? I married one of them, but where are the rest of them?

While I wasn't paying attention

2008-10-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

I was thinking today about all the little things that go on around us that we don't notice. I am pretty tech savvy and computer literate so I make use of all the modern conveniences that are available online. I pay bills, shop, correspond, surf ... all those wonderful things that are available to me 24-7 - at my fingertips. I am all about convenience and the new age of computers really satisfies that need for me. So while I wasn't looking something strange started happening. Big blue USPS mailboxes started disappearing. I live in a condo and so I have a centrally located mailbox and in that complex of boxes there is an outgoing slot, but it is only a slot. You can only put 1 or 2 pieces in at a time. Now that I have my little "work at home" job I need to mail out invoices and sometimes there is a big stack so that little slot just doesn't do the trick. Of course there is not a post office convenient to get to so I began looking for my neighborhood mailbox. Let me tell ya, it ain't there anymore. So being the surfer that I am I started looking online. All across the country these mailboxes are being removed for lack of use! I suddenly realized IT'S MY FAULT! I don't have a neighborhood mailbox anymore cause I stopped using it. How very strange. I went on the USPS website to see what they have to say about it and I can't even easily find any information! Very interesting! I did find a website totally unrelated to the USPS that will allow you to put in your zip code so that you can find the mailbox nearest you, but it is actually designed to help you find a payphone - which by the way are also missing. Here is the link to the website: http://www.payphone-project.com/mailboxes/53406-0010.html
Wow, I feel really bad. I took them for granted. I do have fond memories as a teenage girl walking to the corner mailbox to mail a letter to my boyfriend. So romantic. It seems sad there is a whole host of generation that will never have that opportunity - course they may not want to, but even if they did, now they can't. Sad. All this happened while I wasn't paying attention. What else have I missed?

New look at old Alma Mata

2008-09-04T09:37:00.000-07:00

I finished my high school years at C.E. Byrd High School in Shreveport, Louisiana. Our mascot was the "yellow jacket". I didn't think much of it. I have always been afraid of them and will run screaming like a little kid when they are around.. bees, wasps hornets, yellow jackets, dirt dobber, fly - whatever is flying fast around me gets my attention and I start trying to get away. I did get stung on the tongue while eating an apple on the playground in first grade - which scared everyone and earned me a trip to the ER, and I know I stepped on a bee while walking barefoot as a young child, but I don't remember much about it except to be afraid.

Now I know what the deal is! On Monday (Labor Day) I got nailed on the ring finger of my left hand. Unprovoked, unexpected, and certainly undeserved! I never saw it coming. It was a yellow jacket! It hurt like the DEVIL! I'd say a pain level of 8 on a scale of 10 for about 12 to 14 hours and then mild pain after. Swelling was bad. Nothing eased the pain. It is now Thursday - 3 days later and all the pain has finally subsided and the insane itching has commenced. This pain was probably worse than when I broke my finger. I am amazed how bad it really hurt. No wonder I am so afraid. Of course now I've learned all about them and my fear actually attracts them. But that doesn't mean I will be able to act differently in their presence. Especially since my current plan is to stay in the house until the cold weather rids them!

They are described as "predatory" and "angry" and they can send off a signal to all their friends to come and attack you! I guess that might be ok, but for high school sports? Unprovoked? I don't think so. Here's a picture of these mean little buggers. You can read about them here.

I guess I should say don't run screaming from them, but if you hear or see someone running and screaming, get out of the way! it might be me.

The Shack

2008-08-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

My friend Kathy gave me a book to read this past weekend. She and I often exchange books - we both have a love of suspense novels. So I assumed from her description of this book that was sort of what I would be getting. She told me it is the story of a guy who lost one of his children to a serial killer and years later he gets a note in his mailbox from a mystery person to meet him over the weekend at the place where his young daughter was killed - "The Shack".

While her description was spot on, it was sorely lacking. This is a very thought-provoking and absolutely controversial book. Most Christians I know would be having a field day heckling this book. It's all about this man that lost his daughter reconciling his relationship with God. It's all about forgiveness and choosing to lay down your pain and burdens.

At the end of the book there appeared to be an advertisement but upon closer inspection was a very clever way of promoting the book and it's website www.theshackbook.com. It suggested that you write in your blog about the book, which I initially rejected and though of as free publicity and promotion (which it is), however, the passage (below) I quote from the book touched me so tangibly I let that drive this blog.

I think the way the Holy Trinity is portrayed is on the kooky side - very "Unitarian Church". The images of Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit the author chooses to portray are way on the far side of "feel good" and not to my liking - nor did they feel very imaginative to me, but who am I to judge someones perspective on their relationship with God? My pastor tells me that most theologians have blasted this portrayal of the Holy Trinity as neither sound or correct. But there is goodness in this book. A wonderful message. It's a great read and I will read it again someday. One particular passage struck me very deeply and I will hold it very close.

Here is the direct quote from the last paragraph on page 185: God is speaking to Mack - the character in the book and he says: "Mack, just because I work incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies doesn't mean I orchestrate the tragedies. Don't ever assume that my using something means I caused it or that I need it to accomplish my purposes. That will only lead you to false notions about me. Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors."

"Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist ...". I needed to hear that. I needed that application in this story and in life. What a concept. I guess I knew it, but I needed it defined very simply like that. It's something I can really hold on to.

Thanks to William P. Young for writing "The Shack". Everyone should read it. with an open mind!

My first earthquake

2008-04-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

Can I just say W O W! I've visited California several times and never experienced an earthquake. But I moved to Wisconsin and here I get to experience all kinds of new weather. Is an earthquake in the weather category? I really have no idea. But I could feel the Illinois earthquake that happened yesterday here at my home in Sturtevant, Wisconsin.

Here's how it happened at my house: it was the wee hours of the morning Friday and as usual I was disgusted with Mike and his snoring when he took it to an all new level. At 3:49 am I had enough and finally went to the other bedroom. I struggled with falling asleep for the thirty minutes or so and then blissfully began intermittently dozing and dreaming. Sometime after 4:30 am I woke to my bed just barely shaking - I thought it was Mike checking to see if I was awake and I tried to ignore him, but finally I said aloud - to nobody - "stop it!". Then I raised my head and realized there was nobody there. So I got up and went into my bedroom and there was Mike snoring away. I went back to bed wondering if I had a case of vertigo or what, but soon fell back to sleep. Later Friday morning - around 10 am I was driving to a friends house and was listening to the radio in my car and they were interviewing people about the earthquake, but I didn't catch where or when. Only when I got to my friend's house did I learn there was an actual earthquake in Illinois that registered a magnitude of 5.2 and could be felt hundreds of miles away. I don't know why I think this is cool, but I did feel it - it wasn't vertigo and it wasn't a dream and it wasn't Mike shakin my world.

Whats in a name?

2008-03-30T20:35:00.001-07:00

I am singing in a new mixed quartet. Reed, Erin Dan and I. We've been at it a couple of months now. We're tying to come up with a name. Once you choose one you are stuck with it, so you want to choose wisely. I would like it to be clever. I prefer short, easily identified, easy to spell and pronounce. Lacking in "hokiness" is important to me too. When we rehearse I write in on my calender as "REDD" - Reed, Erin, Dan & Dianne. Nobody is going for that one. But we have to call ourselves something, right?

Some of the ones we have come up with that I like are: Beyond Words; Pass Me Not; Lost and Found; Follow the Leader; Off the Page; No Other Name; Testament; and so many more.

But as yet we haven't agreed on one.

Whats in a name? Got any suggestions?

2008-03-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

This is a devotional reading I recently found. It is written by one of my favorite christian choral music arrangers - I think it's very good. I copied it from Randy Vader's website.

It Is Still A Wonder

This is a time of remembrance when the Body of Christ around the world observes the events that led to the last week of the earthly ministry of Jesus, the Christ. This is a time of triumph and tragedy, devotion and deceit, discipleship and denial. This is the season of the Cross. The journey that began before the foundation of the world, measured in terms known only in eternity, was finally measured in the tortured footsteps of the Master as He made His way to Calvary.

Calvary. It may seem that all of this occurred on a hill too far away, too far removed from our life to speak to us and our need for this great a sacrifice. We cannot stand in the distance and expect to experience the magnitude of the Cross. We must draw near. We must face what we can never understand. We must confront the ravaged, spotless Lamb to gain just a glimpse of our stain of sin. The Cross cannot be explained away. The Cross cannot be ignored. The Cross cannot be stripped of its cruelty and shame. The Cross cannot and will not be denied. We must approach and bear personal witness to the reality of the Cross to remove the slightest shred of doubt. To know once and for all - this must be true - this could not be myth or legend - for it is impossible to imagine the unthinkable.

He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5

The invitation stands. . .come survey the wondrous Cross.

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Issac Watts

Reading from Randy Vader and John Fischer
On A Hill Too Far Away

Reminders and Remembering

2008-03-05T08:54:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again. March - some call it March madness, which I sometimes think is applicable in my life. One of my most favorites things in the whole world happens in March! On March the 7th of 1982 something wonderful happened to me - Bradley Hilton - my little baby boy. He's 26 years old this year - hardly a baby. More and more like a man - a real man. With quirks and strength of character and all the wonderful things that make him uniquely Brad. I have always called him "my little God-send" since he came at a time when I needed something to ground me and center me and give me a little sanity. He did that as a child, for both me and my mother. From time to time he still offers me that grounding and centering, although he's no so much of the "sanity" anymore. He knows that March is a tough month and yet he never complains. He makes me proud everyday that I get to be his mom.

Sometimes March brings Easter - not very often, especially this early. But this is one of those years and I love Easter. It's a time of promise and a reminder of what Christ willingly did for us. And we all need to be reminded on a regular basis - that's the true and valuable way to stay "centered".

But then March has a cruel edge to it too. On March the 9th of 1996 Kelly died. So unexpected and randomly cruel. She just took a short ride in the wrong car and all her tomorrows ended abruptly. She would be 30 years old this year. I often wonder what she would be like? Would she go to college? Would she have a job that she loves? Would she find the love of her life and marry him? Would she have any kids? Would she call and visit often enough to suit us? Would she have a good sense of humor? These questions will never be answered. This year Mike and I purchased an anthem for the choir at my church to sing in memory of Kelly. We'll be singing that anthem in church this Sunday. It is titled "Be Still My Soul" - not the one you think you know though it is just as beautiful. This one was written by Kim Noblitt and it expresses the only way to get through the unexplained. You can hear in the video below.

Just 3 years later on March 25 of 1999, my mother died. It's not that it was so unexpected, but more unexplained. Sure, we know 'how' she died, it just doesn't explain why so young. She was only 67. That may not technically seem all that young, but when you couple that with the fact that she actually lost the capability the live her own life 5 years before at around the age of 62, it seems awfully young to me. She had Pick's disease and she spent the last years of her life with virtually no quality of life and absolutely no warning of what was coming. My husband will turn 60 on his birthday this year so 62 and 67 seem very young to me. She never got to enjoy her last grand-child, Savannah. She never really even knew she had her first great-grandchild, RaeAnne. She never knew Kelly died. She was still alive for all these events, but this disease was so cruel it robbed her of her life and it robbed us of the last few years of her life. It was difficult to watch it ravage her and then just as abruptly as the disease began, it ended and she was gone. I miss her still. She would be so proud of Brad, she would be so happy for Larry, she'd be fascinated to see how we all turned out and I know she's watching.

I guess what I am trying to say is March is full of madness - good and bad. Anyway I jumbled all that up into this video.

Trying my hand at Youtube.com

2008-02-10T20:32:00.000-08:00

Now I have posted two videos of my old singing group at youtube and I am having fun watching the tally grow of how many times the videos have been viewed! Here's my second one.

Oh be careful little mouth what you say...

2008-02-06T20:09:00.001-08:00

Just last Wednesday we had heavy snowfall - enough to cancel school and other activities. My younger brother Rusty called me that day and wanted to know if I was "snowed in" - I said nah - we don't really get snowed in.

Today I was reminded of a song we used to sing in children's choir in church years ago: "oh, be careful little mouth what you say!" WE GOT SNOWED IN! Blizzard conditions - white out- over a foot of snowfall in a 24 hour period and EVERYTHING cancelled! Even shopping malls were closed! It is beautiful, but boy will it be a dirty ugly mess tomorrow when the plows get done with it. Hopefully I won't feel a need to post any further weather related messages!

Weather and other worries

2008-02-04T19:25:00.000-08:00

I grew up in the deep south and so I never experienced snow. But 9 years ago we moved to Wisconsin and that first winter we were here we had 51 inches of snow in just the month of December. We had a white Christmas! It was amazing! I regularly made snow angels for us and all our neighbors. We bought snowmobiles and really got out and enjoyed a totally winter sport. But then after a few years reality set in and now I AM SO OVER IT! It's not that I hate the snow, I don't. I still get excited and sit or stand at the window and admire the silent beauty of it. I just don't make snow angels or really get out in it.

But then last week we had the most amazing snowfall. I came from my kitchen into my living room and I have this huge picture window and it was snowing so hard and the snowflakes were so unbelieveably large that I felt I was INSIDE of a snowglobe. Honestly. I just dropped what I was involved in and sat and watched. I was in awe all over again, like when we first moved here. Then again yesterday it snowed and it was beautiful again.

This afternoon it started raining and then terribly thick fog set in and now I can't see squat! Needless to say, I hate winter weather! Unfortunate for me it's only February.

Just putting it out there

2008-01-31T08:21:00.000-08:00

I spent this past Christmas in my hometown and I got to spend some long awaited time with my oldest son. We hadn't seen each other in over two years and had not even spoken on the phone for about a year and a half. We have struggled with our relationship for many years now, but this was definately the longest period of estrangement. I believe there is a lot of power in the spoken word and so I am just gonna put it out there that from here on out I hope we can build a loving strong bond that blanks out all the bad stuff we have gone through - together and apart. Cause in the end it's your family that matters most. My son is a great looking, enigmatic person and I love him very much and hope that someday he can begin to really believe that.

Reconcilation is sometimes a difficult thing, but it's so worth it. Moms - call your kids. Kids - call your mom. You're never too old or too far gone to start anew.

I love you Chris.

A little explantion

2008-01-15T14:24:00.000-08:00

I figured if I am going to blog then I should start with how I choose my name. I play the piano - duh, you knew that right? But the thing is I chose that name cause it's kinda non-descript and wouldn't draw allot of unwanted attention. Since I am new to the blog thing I figured that could be important. You know how you always hear allot about unwanted attention on My-space and such and I thought I would try to avoid all that - course I didn't know how obscure this would be so really I had nothing to worry about.

But the thing is, I do play piano. And the amazing thing about it is that I am able to play much better than I should. I know that God blessed me with the ability and so I am very careful to give him the praise. I can actually play well beyond my training or abilities and that is the very definite "God part" of it.

I always wanted to be a church accompanist and I have been for many years. But the difference is I always wanted to be a good choir accompanist. I wanted to be able to sight read well and be able to play whatever was put in front of me. The thing is I didn't have the education or the training and certainly had never been one to practice. Which is what is required if you want to play well and certainly if you want to play classical. My mom and my grandmother both played piano and this certainly fostered the desire in me. But they both played by ear, my grandmother did not read music at all and my mother only barely read music. When I was 6 years old my mother decided to have my older brother, Larry, and I take piano lessons. So she took us to the mother of the girl who was our church organist, Mrs. Martin. She sat us both on the piano bench and got a magic marker and numbered our fingers on each hand 1 - 5. This was probably the only thing I learned at the first lesson, but I look back and cannot imagine the application of actually marking the numbers on each finger since I'm pretty sure that I knew that before I ever got there. I also look back and know what a mistake it is to try to teach two students at once on the same piano. We had to take turns on everything which can eat up a 30 minute lesson really quickly - and that's not even counting the time we wasted having sibling fights and stuff. Anyway I cannot remember very much about those lessons and I don't believe we went more than 6 or 8 times anyway. But I DID learn some stuff. My mother would teach me to play hymns from the Baptist Hymnal. But she taught me from her memory and she taught me to play by memory. By the time I was about 11 years old I could play 3 hymns, I was also pretty good at "playing by ear" which I did allot, but I could only play the melody line. But I was armed and dangerous with those 3 hymns. At the age of 12 I began going around to all the Sunday school classes at church and playing for their open assembly. Pretty soon they started begging my mom to teach me some new stuff. And by the age of 16 I could pretty much play all the standard hymns and that was enough to get me my first accompanist position at a very small little church - Victory Baptist Church. I was so proud of myself. I was even learning to play new songs on my own, but was very frustrated at how difficult it was for me. So at the age of 16 I went back to Mrs. Martin for some PRIVATE lessons! Not that Larry was holding me back or anything, because he had become quite the singer! Anyway I took lessons from Mrs. Martin for 2 or 3 months, enough to really firm up my ability to read music right out of the hymnal. When I was 19 I got an even better accompanist position - the PAID kind!! Course this was serious business and my nervousness was taken to an all time high! After a few months at this new church (in truth the preacher that gave me the job was my favorite uncle - do they call that narcissism? (LOL) they decided to send me for some speciality lessons that they agreed to pay for. These special lessons would teach me to play the hymns with embellishment, which was quite fun! I got to take about 6 lessons total from this lady, but it was THE most fun I ever had learning! Then when I was 25 years old I decided it was time for me to venture beyond the church hymnal and learn to play secular or even some light classical or pop music. So I went to a well known teacher in my hometown and in my very first session he made me cry. I look back now and I understand his reaction to me, but at the time it was devastating. He began by having me play for him - anything I wanted, but it had to be a complete piece and I did and by some Divine intervention, I played it really well that day. He then asked me what I play the most and I replied honestly that it was hymns and that my aspiration was to be a good church accompanist. So he pulled out a hymnal and had me plays some songs of his choosing. Then he choose one I did not know how to play, but I did know the song and I struggled with it but got through it. But then he choose another one that I didn't know at all and the more I struggled the more frustrated he got and he began to express his frustration and this hurt my feelings and the crying soon began. Thankfully OUR TIME WAS UP!!! Now I ran out of there promising myself that I would never go back, but people kept telling me how good he was and how lucky I was that he agreed to take me as a student and so I went back. We managed to find a way to work together without me breaking down into tears, but I only stayed with it for 12 lessons. I know now that he was so confused at my ability to play so confidently and competently the hymns that I knew and then fall apart with everything else. He was complimenting me in a round about way, but I was so insecure that I couldn't hear it then. However it did cause me to buckle down and train myself to be a better sight reader and I can play whatever is put in front of me and if I can practice it a few times it is performance ready. Then you add in the fact the God sees fit to anoint me with his grace and I have become quite the accompanist. I am proud of myself and so thankful that I never gave up. I am now the accompanist at a very large church in my town and we are blessed with an abundance of extremely talented musicians including pianists and they have no idea that I have never even had a year's worth of piano lessons. (And hopefully they won't read this blog and find out!)

That's how it all started.
more later...

First time post

2007-11-29T10:47:00.000-08:00

This is just a little experiment because I figure if my 84 year old mother-in-law can do this, then I can. Anyway, I'm just nosing around since she is.

2007-11-29T10:28:00.000-08:00

Not to be outdone by my 84 year old mother-in-law, I created this blog out of sheer curiosity. I figure if she can, I can. Not a competition or anything cause I'm too smart for that. Have you met my mother-in-law? She can and has done everything! About the only thing I can do that she can't is play the piano and I know if she decided to, she could outplay me!

That's all for today. If you read this, you must let me know!