Fingertipping

My shot to play music came and ended when I was in 1st grade.

It was summer and my parents wanted me to learn piano to make my vacation a productive one.

The tutor who was supposed to train me was an ancient Spanish lady who wears an eyepatch on her left eye. According to my cousin, who happens to be her student, the old lady was fierce. She'll hit your hands with a ruler when you make a mistake. Everytime he goes home, he shows me his fingertips to prove how bad he fessed up with the keys that day.

One hot afternoon, I was told to report to her house which was 10 blocks from home. While walking, I was psyching myself not to be afraid of the lady and everything will be be fine.

Her then teenaged grand-daughter received me at the door and led me to the study where this antique piano lorded the center of the room. I was made to be seated on one of the chairs that leaned against the wall facing the piano. Piano music is central to this family, I thought.

The lady came in, walking with the help of a cane. She was intimidating. She looked like a witch/lady pirate without the hat and peg-leg. She could've been Captain Barbosa's mother. Her silver hair tied so tight in a bun constantly remind me that in the future, hair color would be a priority. Yet strangely though, amidst all the wrinkles on her face, I noticed that for an old lady her hands were really pretty (Note to self: Hand lotion, never forget to buy hand lotion.) She ordered me to sit on the piano seat and proceeded to the lessons. I'd say my fingers had a bashing that day, and that was the first time I heard someone cuss in Spanish.

When I was to do my pastels that night (like I always did) before I go to dreamland I had difficulty mixing colors with my fingers. I decided, when I woke up the next day, that there would be no more piano lessons with that lady.

Right now, I still haven't made a final judgment if that decision was one of the biggest error of my life due to stupidity of youth.

I resigned myself to listening music to instead, and kept my hands and fingers free from harm, since I've always considered that part of my anatomy one of most vital - tertiary to the optic and acoustic apparatuses, actually. (The only time I put my manos in risky situations is when I handle sharps in the kitchen or do surgery).

My fascination with fingertipping never diminished though. My acoustics alert my brain when it hears interesting piano parts in a song or a piano solo itself.

Fingertipsters I love:

CLASSIC: TCHAIKOVSKY
MODERN ARTISTS WITH PIANO ELEMENTS IN THEIR SONGS: TORI AMOS, JAMIE CULLUM, VIENNA TENG, AND MAKSIM.

TORI AMOS is my all-time favorite female musician. She's not traditionally pretty but the lady exudes the definition of beauty, brains, and talent. I know she is Neil Gaiman's inspiration for the Sandman character DELIGHT. And she is a delight in her own right. I love her songwriting, dark and stuttery, but deep. Her voice is haunting. But what I love most is how she handles the piano. It's like it's an extension of her personality already.

JAMIE CULLUM is mostly a pop/jazz artist. And I am not fond of jazz as maybe I don't like the crowd it attracts - pretentious yuppie-types. But I made him an exception, 'cuz his songwriting is fun and insightful. But I think what nailed my interest was when I saw his performance on TV. The guy seems to be having so much fun with the piano.

VIENNA TENG was a wonderful discovery. I was sifting through CDs in Tower Records when I read a blurb about her. I didn't even went to the listening station. I just bought the thing and trusted the blurb saying she's an excellent piano player. I am happy I trusted my gut. Her songs are haunting. The piano pieces tell stories of their own even if she didn't lend her voice. I am actually divided on whether these pieces were well thought of OR just bursts of expression. But either way, I think she's a genius.

MAKSIM, for some uptight classical folks, is a blasphemy. Fusing pop/techno elements with classical piano is like a sin. But I actually liked his experimentation with the genre. I often feel that for the newer generation to appreciate really great music, classical music should at least adapt, to pique interest and draw younger folks to make it live. His style is like a breath of air in CPR. The guy is sooo good. And it shows. He makes love to the piano. I wonder if his GF/wife gets jealous. I was disappointed when I found out from a DJ friend that he was here some years ago, and I was not able to catch a performance. (For that, I hated Medicine even more.)

In the future, I hope to catch these people on stage.

For the meantime, I'll listen to OST's with great piano parts (NOtable: Titanic's THe Portrait - a piano solo by James HOrner) and search for a patient piano teacher that I can pester.