I’m a beginner, a lousy sight reader, my sense of rhythm is wonky, and I have no understanding of music theory. It takes me forever to memorize a piece. But I couldn’t be happier, writes Stephen Gauer
First Person is a daily personal piece submitted by readers. Have a story to tell? See our guidelines atEvery weeknight at 9:30 I go into a small room in my apartment, sit down at my digital piano, plug in a pair of headphones and put them on. I pick up a music book, open it to page one and place it on the piano in front of me. I take a deep breath and exhale, and then I play a G with the third finger on my right hand, and a G with the third finger on my left hand, two octaves apart.
She doesn’t know it, but concert pianist Angela Hewitt is responsible for my new obsession. I heard her play the Goldberg Variations, non-stop, for 90 minutes last year. I sat completely transfixed in the seventh row at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at the University of British Columbia. When Hewitt finished, she sat in silence, motionless, visibly drained, for what seemed like minutes, before the applause erupted.
My idea wasn’t completely crazy. I knew how to read music. But I played solo guitar, and surely piano, not guitar, was the ultimate solo instrument. Everyone knew that. I thought about the thousands of hours I’d spent playing the guitar. Such a waste.
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