I got rhythm, I got music...

I have just taught myself how to play “Für Elise” and “Ode to Joy” on the piano. Seriously.

But let me give you some back story.

Months ago, Brandon taught me the opening bars of “Für Elise” and “Ode to Joy”, but didn’t know the rest, and so couldn’t show me, so I practiced what he did show me. My fingers became more dexterous. I tried to figure out by ear what the next parts of the songs were, but I could not find the right notes. It just never sounded right, and I thought I’d have to have someone show me or find the tabs online and try to decipher them. Never got around to it.

Cut to last night: I went with Corey and Jeanne to see George Gershwin Alone at the Geffen, and was so high with piano music that I was dying to break through the seven veils of Music and see what was behind them once and for all (that chick has eluded me all of my life when all I wanted to do was just talk to her). Luckily, I had two professional musicians in the car with me. So I asked, just how does music work? What are notes, what are chords, how do you know which key you’re in, how are keys and notes related? We went into the house and gained access to a keyboard, and the tutoring began in earnest. Corey did most of the explaining, but Jeanne added things as well. They explained notes A through A (A through G, and beginning again with A, really) and the corresponding numbers 1 through 8, and major and minor and thirds and fifths and sevenths and half steps and whole steps and sharps and flats and augmented and diminished and perfects and tonics and roots and intervals...and I began to get it. Corey gave me a diagram to use with my keyboard showing the piano keys and where the notes can be sharp or flat, and also a count of notes within a scale that can be moved to where you want it to be.

So.

Tonight I pulled out the keyboard and did some playing around, seeing if I could make sense of it alone. I tested certain things and some combinations sounded good, and some didn’t. I went online looking for tabs for “Heart and Soul” and found a chart of octaves and notes on a 61-key keyboard, which is what I'm using, and I printed it out. Then I practiced the “Für Elise” part that I knew and identified which notes I was playing: E D# E D# E B D C A. Then I tried to pick out the next few bars, as usual. But somehow, instead of going away frustrated, I began to pick out the right notes, by singing and matching what I was singing on the keys. I used to do that before, too, but this time I had a VOCABULARY with which to work, and soon I was getting the ending notes, and then I was figuring out what came between, and pretty soon, I had the melody down for (what I knew of) the song! I wrote it down, and I played it and I played it and it sounded right and I just started laughing, I was so happy! Then I tackled “Ode to Joy”. And found those notes, too! Fuck “Chopsticks” and “Mary Had a Little Lamb”—I go right to BEETHOVEN, man!! On to Mozart!! Chopin!! Bach!! Tchaikovsky!!

I am about twelve kinds of stunned that this makes sense to me!! I seriously have been stymied by the concept of music all my life, never understanding HOW musicians KNEW what to play, how to play it. Both Corey and Jeanne likened it to learning a new language. Of course, all I’ve done is learn how to say “hello”, “please”, “thank you”, “how much is this?”, and “where’s the bathroom?”, but I’m giddy at the idea of being able to communicate at all! I feel like Helen Keller at the water pump...W-A-T-E-R is water...yeeees!!

Further to this, before my computer was busy disobeying me and restarting now instead of later, I had printed out the chords to “Missed Me” by the Dresden Dolls, and I have begun to slowly hash it out. It’s fucking recognizable as “Missed Me”, so that makes me ecstatic! I’m on my way to playing my beloved cabaret piano, lovelies!!