My Baby Grand

Alright, never in my life have had the actual pleasure of owning a beautiful baby grand piano to sit in my living room. It has been a dream of mine since I was a child but I'm not complaining, I'm perfectly happy with my upright antique. Truth be told, it matters not the instrument you choose to play the music with, it's the heart of the musician that truly matters. Each person in my family has a gift, a talent and it really varies from person to person. For a long time I wished I could be like my exceptional younger sister, brains and beauty equaled being an amazing athlete and salutatorian of her class. My mother, intelligent, beautiful, and a true heart for helping others. My mother became a nurse right after high school. She just knew that's what she wanted to do. 30 years later, she travels around America, doing exactly what she loves and getting permanent offers after every single trip, because she's just that good. My grandmother has an amazing head for business and finance. She started off in her younger years as a teller and ended up President of that bank, and she was phenomenal at it. As for me, well we all know the term 'black sheep '. I was the 'creative' one, the dreamer, the one who went to college for 4 years never achieving a degree because she only took classes she thought sounded 'interesting'. Every family has at least one. In every single way, compared to any other woman in my family, I'm perfectly average, except one. When I sit down at my beloved piano, the tables turn somewhat in my favor. I know that when I sit down to play, I get to feel alive again, like I matter again, and in that moment, nobody can take that from me. Nobody can compare to me, in that moment alone. Every person can relate to the elation that comes from doing something that you whole-heartedly know you are exceptional at.

'My Baby Grand' is the title of a song by Billy Joel and Ray Charles. I titled this hub My Baby Grand for this very reason. If there was ever a song that perfectly describes the heart of a musician it is this one. When you really have a love for music and in my case the piano, at times you almost do feel like your beloved instrument is the only one who will never let you down. Let me say, no, I am not crazy, my piano does NOT come alive and talk to me at night. There is just a simple comfort in knowing that at any point, night or day, when I'm lonely, sad, feeling less-than, that there is something I can count on, while I sit at the bench of that piano.. Whenever I choose to take up the offer.

People often times ask those ridiculous questions like: 'If you had to choose which would you be, blind or deaf?' How cruel is the person that's out to take my eyes or ears? I just sincerely hope I never have to make the decision of losing my sight or my hearing. I mean seriously? How many of us have been held at gun point and the ONLY thing the gunman wants to know is: 'Alright, spill it, eyes or ears lady? C'mon, are you keeping your eyes or ears I haven't got all day.' Regardless of the insanity of the question itself I would have to choose to lose my sight. In the past when people have heard me say that they literally don't understand my choice. The person who uses only their logical reasoning in life would never understand that decision. For others like me though, they would understand it is the ONLY decision. Again, I do hope it's a choice I never have to make it. I do enjoy seeing things, driving, etc., but I am that adamant about music and I'm not certain I could live without having it in my life. It is my passion and it is in my soul.

I began playing right before my 4th birthday and here I am almost 30, and I know I couldn't give it up. It's almost like an addiction or a drug. It is a necessary requirement for my life. This is of course not limited to piano, or playing. It includes all music. When I was around 10 I began to listen to music in phases. It used to crack my mother up. For that entire year I listened to any music I could find from the 1950's. When I was around 12 I continued to the 1960's. At 14 I went into the 1970's. Being born in the 1980's I already knew the majority of songs, but it continued on and on and I can tell if I will love or hate any song within the first 15 seconds. My opinion on any particular song I haven't cared for has changed a handful of times, but generally the first impression for me is the one that lasts. Music can alter my mood, my feelings, quicker than anything else. If I am going through a rough time in life I am usually very careful about what I listen to. When I hear a song that triggers emotion during those sad times I may very well sit and cry all day, or vice versa. Music can lift my spirits in ways I never thought possible. Hearing a particular song can make me believe, 'it really will be o.k.'

My piano at times feels like a guardian or a parent. I learn more from music and more about myself with each passing day. Hearing songs about joy or sadness can transport us to the exact feelings the writer was experiencing. When you hear a song, really listen. You will be able to hear the composer's feelings through the lyrics, the melody, the instruments used. When you feel a particular way it is a reassuring feeling to be able to relate to someone else, especially through a song. Some of my favorites songs and yours as well, have been inspired by someone else's heartbreak, their sadness, their joy and happiness. For me, Billy Joel and Ray Charles are an amazing duo, and are able to sum up in 1 song how I feel when I sit down at my piano bench each day. If you have not heard this song before please give it a listen.