Last night I had my first rehearsal with the Lincoln Pops Orchestra, and my first experience with an acoustic piano, since my injury. I didn't actually run through any of the charts before the rehearsal, thinking (naively) that I would just redistribute my fingerings and it would be no big deal. What I didn't anticipate was any pain or strain on my hand. A piano, being a percussion instrument, involves direct hitting of the keys (much like playing a hand drum), and the fatigue was surprising. Up until this point, I have only been playing organ or synthesizer, and there is very little pressure involved in that type of playing. Ironically, the lack of response that an organ has to the weight or speed of the attack is precisely what I don't like about the instrument. In my heart, I am a percussionist, and I play the piano like one. I played one solo, and actually found that my thumb played one note by mistake (a lesson quickly learned - don't do that again!). Aside from that, I got through it fairly well, and received applause from many of my bandmates. (I kind of surprised myself.)
The things that were very challenging were these: voicing chord changes completely with my left hand, and not being able to do arpeggios or other fills with ease. I know I need to become more facile with comping with my left hand, so I accepted the challenge as a welcome exercise. But, the arpeggios are either going to take extensive practice, or are just going to have to wait.
I made one additional mistake that evening when I locked my keys in my car as soon as I parked it. You'd think a hall full of musicians would be able to break into a car - that is just a comment on musician's resourcefulness, not on any perceived lack of character. The slim jim that one of the trumpet players ran home to get did not work, so I had to call AAA, and learned that my car is one of the most difficult to break into. My score was in my car, so I couldn't play the first half of the rehearsal. In retrospect, it was probably a good thing. Just playing the second hour of the rehearsal wore me out, and I was emotionally falling apart by the end. I have a feeling this is going to be a long road.
The things that were very challenging were these: voicing chord changes completely with my left hand, and not being able to do arpeggios or other fills with ease. I know I need to become more facile with comping with my left hand, so I accepted the challenge as a welcome exercise. But, the arpeggios are either going to take extensive practice, or are just going to have to wait.
I made one additional mistake that evening when I locked my keys in my car as soon as I parked it. You'd think a hall full of musicians would be able to break into a car - that is just a comment on musician's resourcefulness, not on any perceived lack of character. The slim jim that one of the trumpet players ran home to get did not work, so I had to call AAA, and learned that my car is one of the most difficult to break into. My score was in my car, so I couldn't play the first half of the rehearsal. In retrospect, it was probably a good thing. Just playing the second hour of the rehearsal wore me out, and I was emotionally falling apart by the end. I have a feeling this is going to be a long road.