Trying Out New Things Part 2

Up until a few days ago, I had expressed my desire to play the piano to my mom, brother, and stepdad. Although I didn’t know how to read music or play the piano, I knew that I can play it by ear. It had been a while since I had played an instrument since high school, so I decided to give it a try. The very next day, I ordered a 9V piano cord and asked my mom if I could borrow her purple headphones and aux cord. This way, I could play the instrument in my ears while listening to piano lessons on my iPhone.


To my surprise, I discovered that I could play the piano! I didn’t even know how to read music, but I was able to play by ear. My mom even mentioned that her father had played almost every instrument by ear, including the piano and guitar. Her sister played the piano, and my cousins play the piano in the church. I guess I have that music gene in my DNA!


I recently taught myself how to sing on YouTube. I sang to one of my favorite R&B and southern soul songs on Spotify and improved my rapping skills as well. But back to the piano. The songs that I usually play or practice are “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” “Star Spangled Banner,” “Happy Birthday,” “Wonderful,” “It’s a Beautiful World,” “You Got a Friend in Me,” “Runaway,” and many more.


Playing the piano is a lot of fun and relaxing for me when I have downtime at home. It’s easy for me to learn and figure out the notes (by sound and touch). I just follow along with the video, feel the keys, and find the note that matches the sound. 


- David Gillespie

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