I just finished reading an interesting book about the history of the piano. The title is a bit long, so I decided not to put it in the title of the post.

A Natural History of the Piano: The Instrument, the Music, the Musicians — from Mozart to Modern Jazz and Everything in Between was written by Stuart Isacoff.

Book Cover from goodreads.com

I really enjoyed reading about the history of the piano. The book not only covered the history of the development of the instrument itself, but also talked about the music written for it, the composers and the performers. The history was fascinating and I was able to learn new things about the background of many pieces of music and the performances that I regularly listen to. I really enjoy listening to piano music, and the majority of the entries in my iTunes library are piano performances. I also enjoy listening to Classical music during my commute and hear a lot of piano music.

The book also talked about several musical prodigies who started playing or composing at a young age.OK, I am not a musical prodigy but I did like to play music on the piano at a very young age. My Mom titled this picture: “Playing the piano with cookie in his mouth.” I have some good memories of this old upright piano and several others that I played on while growing up.

My older sister starting taking piano lessons when she was old enough and a couple years later I also joined her in taking lessons. I have some great memories of taking piano lessons from Margaret Hunt. I remember the many trips to the Administration building of the Midwestern School of Evangelism where she taught lessons. Sometimes my sister and I would together take the bus all the way across Ottumwa by ourselves. Something that today would be out of the question almost anywhere. It was a much simpler time.

I also remember recital time and having to play in front of a lot of people. When I was eleven we moved away from Ottumwa any my piano lessons came to an end, but my music lessons did not. When we were in Ottumwa I had started taking lessons on the cello, which still remains one of my favorite instruments to listen to. I also had to give up the cello as we did not have an orchestra at the school we went to in Kansas. Instead I took up the trombone. By then I had a good grasp of the bass clef, so it was a fairly smooth transition :-).

I sometimes wish that I had continued taking piano lessons. I do have a piano at home and will occasionally sit down and play. You probably wouldn’t want to listen to me play, but for me it is really relaxing. Especially when I simply make up my own melodies and play the chords that I want to play depending on my mood.

I have some recordings of my piano teacher playing and also have great memories of listening to her play over the years. I also have many friends who remember taking lessons from Margaret as she taught several generations of students.

My Mother also taught piano lessons for many years and we always had piano music in the house while growing up. My older sister was a wonderful pianist and I always enjoyed singing while she would play. I would also sit with my Mother and sing while she played.

Having music around me while growing up and also playing music myself has given me a great appreciation for music and I am so glad that I had those opportunities.

What are your musical memories? Do you remember your music teachers?

Steven