Garret Rohan

English 101
Dr. Dev Bose
2-20-15
Learning a New Type of Expression

When I was just four years old I began to learn how to play the piano. At the time being
only four, the choice for me to learn to play the piano was not made by me, but rather my
parents. Little did I know, this choice my parents had made for me would provide me with a new
way of expression in the future.
The beginning steps of my learning are vague in my memory due to my young age. At
my home my parents had a beautiful old piano. The piano was very large, made with black wood
and had extremely white ivory keys. What I do vividly remember is the happiness and thirst for
more with every note I played. The fact that I could create such beautiful noises by the press of a
key amazed me. I remember when I first started playing I would just sit by the piano and play
random keys and combinations of keys for hours on end until it got to a point my parents would
ask me to stop. I loved the feeling of the ivory keys on my fingers and would enjoy playing until
my hands began to hurt. I dreaded the piano lessons as a child but it was not because of my
dislike for the piano but that I did not like my teacher at all.
As I grew older, I developed more and more skills. I had learned to read music as if it was
a second language to me. Through dedication and practice I was now able to play songs that
required technique and skill. No longer was I playing random keys and combinations but rather I
was playing pieces written by great composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven and Mozart.

My favorite pieces to play and still are today were Fur Elise and Moonlight Sonata
composed by Beethoven. I would spend hours upon hours practicing these songs until I met
perfection. I would often find myself wishing my fingers where just a little bit longer and
become frustrated because I knew exactly what I wanted to do, but I just couldnt get my fingers
to do the same. Once I had felt that I perfected the two songs, that was not enough for me. I
would practice with great repetition so I could play the songs without looking at a sheet of music
or with my eyes open. I loved these two pieces. Once I had got to a point where it seemed as if it
was more natural for me to play these piano pieces than to take a breath of fresh air, I decided to
add my own modifications to them. To go about this, I would play the songs at a slower tempo or
a faster tempo to see how they sounded. After that I would slowly add more chords to the song
testing which worked and more importantly which fit what I was trying to express. This was a
process filled with great frustration and failure. It took me days to find the keys that matched, I
was not only looking for whatever sounded right but rather for what I wanted it specifically to
sound like.
After finishing my own version of the pieces I discovered something that made the piano
even more special to me, a new way to express myself. My previous goal of playing the piano
was to be able to play great pieces by respected composers. My new goal now was to write and
create my own piece. I would go about this in almost the same way I went about first learning the
piano, but instead of pressing random keys and combinations I know I would play different
chords. Depending on the type of mood I wanted to express, I would change the type of key and
tempo I would use. If I wanted to express a high-energy, high-tempo song that sounded bright
and cheerful I would play in the key of E. The same would go if I wanted a more serene, slow

type of song I would play in the calm key of C. These are just two examples of the different keys
I would use to present my musical expressions.
It wasnt long before I had composed my first song. My first song was a short piece that
could be played in just over a minute and it was played in the key of E. While the song did not
have any lyrics to it, my main goal was to make a song that expressed my happiness and joy
created from the piano. Through the piano lessons I had been taking, there was a yearly recital
for all of my teachers students to present two of their favorite songs to everyone. The majority
of the past recitals were very bland and boring events that I didnt care for, but this one was
different. To this day I can still remember this recital as if it was yesterday. It was set up in the
back of an old church in a small room. The room had pale light blue wallpaper that was in poor
condition due to the age of the church. On one end of the room there were three rows of fold out
chairs set up for the parents and friends to view the performers. On the other end sat an old
wooden piano with a brown worn down bench. I was one of the last people to perform. My two
songs that I had chosen to play where Pachelbels and my very own piece. When I was told that I
was next I could not calm my nerves. This was my opportunity to present my own work to a
group of people other than my parents. At this moment I was filled with nothing but fear and
anxiety because I had no idea what the response I was going to receive. As I stepped up to the
piano, I pulled the bench out, set my sheet music up, and began to play Pachelbels Canon. It
seemed as if I didnt even play the first song because all I could think about was presenting my
own song next. After the applause from the first song died down I began to play my own piece.
Due to my nervousness it seemed as if with every key I pressed resonated in the church and
being dissected by everyone. It seemed as if the room had gotten ten degrees warmer. As I was
playing my heart was beating like a pounding drum. I couldnt believe I was playing my very

own song in front of an audience! As the end of the song drew closer I felt more and more
confident and comfortable. When I finished playing another applause followed. When it was
revealed that the song was an original piece, an even greater round of applause followed.
Hearing this applause gave me a type of high I will always remember. I couldnt believe how
nervous I was at first. Looking back at it my extreme fear of being poorly criticized seems so
superfluous. This experience was something that would stick with me for the rest of my life.
The piano will always have a special place in my life. The process of learning the piano
and the individual goals I made for myself through it, showed the gratification one can achieve
by setting goals and accomplishing them. The greatest outcome that the piano has provided me,
is not the image of gratification but rather a great and personal way to express myself. Having a
form of expression that one holds so dear and personal is not something that every person has but
it is something that everyone should seek. Finding this form of expression drove me to get out of
my comfort zone, introduced me to talent I did not know I obtained, and has provided me with
what I believe is the best form of self meditation.