Piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal. Although not portable and often expensive, the piano's versatility and ubiquity have made it one of the most familiar musical instruments.
Pressing a key on the piano's keyboard causes a felt covered hammer to strike steel strings. The hammers rebound, allowing the strings to continue vibrating at their resonant frequency. These vibrations are transmitted through a bridge to a surrounding board that couples the acoustic energy to the air so that it can be heard as sound. When the key is released, a damper stops the string's vibration. Pianos are sometimes classified as both a percussion and a stringed instrument.
In one Saturday night I was at a get together with friends. About an hour into the party I was asked to liven up the evening with a few songs on the piano.
To my astonishment a shocking truth was revealed that night about my decades of lessons, practice and playing . . . there was one thing I could not do . . . I could not improvise!
So there I sat at the piano with NO sheet music and a crowd eagerly waiting for me to entertain them.
I froze like a deer caught in the headlights. It was as if the wind got knocked out me. My hands felt like they were chained to cement blocks . . . I couldn’t move. Seconds seemed like hours. I just sat there staring at the keys. The overbearing silence was so thick I could have sliced it with a knife.
I have never felt so uncomfortable in my life. I mumbled something about not feeling well and quickly made my exit.
Not only was I embarrassed, but I was so mad at myself. How could I, who have been playing the piano for so long, not know how to play without sheet music? I was SoOoOoOo embarrased that night . . . how can such thing happen in my life?
