It’s been just over a year now since I decided to sit down and learn to play the piano properly.
As you know, if you follow my antics, I’ve played saxophone for a living for a good few years. I tinkered on the piano but never really got down to learning hand independence or proper chord structure.
I took the bull by the horns and after an Alfred piano course, enrolled with Pianote by Musora. I just re-enrolled after a year of lessons, so I know it’s been 12 months every morning for around an hour at a time teaching this old dog new tricks.
I am not a virtuoso player nor ever will be, but I can now effectively mangle several popular Xmas Carols and jazz standards.
My dear mum at 92 still plays a little now and then. My late father was a keen organist too, and when he passed my mother gave me one of their spare keyboards, an Orla.
I’ve managed to sit in and comp on keys with my old men’s jazz band on a Tuesday afternoon a few times now, since our regular keys player fell off his perch. It makes a nice change from sax playing all the time.
So that’s a skill I’ve learned recently, along with a year of Lindy Hop dancing and hanging a spoon from the end of my nose….
🤣