For some reason I always thought, if there are kids in the house, it is important to also have a piano.
Maybe because, growing up, for me, that’s how it always was. It took it’s place there in the kitchen or living room. Some of us took lessons, some of us, like me, just sat down occasionally to plunk around.
You couldn’t help to learn the basics of reading notes on the page and the intriguing structure of the scale if you grew up with a piano somewhere in the house.
When my kids were young, the new electric pianos were still a little out of reach financially for us, but one day in the local Shopper paper, someone had an old upright for $100.00. Despite the obvious difficulties with moving such a thing, we decided it was worthwhile. An evening, a couple friends, an open pickup truck and a 12 pack of beer later, and the thing was sitting in our living room.
A few years later we realized that we were probably some of the last people on earth to pay $100.00 for an old upright piano. You can’t give these things away now but, for 20 years or more, it sat in our living room here. Some of the kids took lessons, others just sat down occasionally to plunk around.
It just seemed like a necessary piece of furniture.
And of course, you couldn’t help to learn the basics of reading notes on the page and the intriguing structure of the scale if you grew up with a piano in the living room…
The kids are mostly grown now but it’s still good to remember…
On a lazy Saturday morning, a little barefoot girl with tousled hair and pajamas sitting at the piano…
sometimes the important things are really simple to come by…
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| “Saturday Mornings, The Old Upright Piano”, 17″x22″ pencil drawing on smooth Bristol Board by John Huisman |