Banging The Ivories
November 30, 2006
The 9 year old piano prodigy who lives next door is as disciplined as they come. A cute, shy kid. When you speak to her, she always turns so her hair will cover her eyes. Then she utters a barely audible, ”Hi.” A typical day finds her doing the musical scales, then she breaks into a classical piece of music. Mozart. Beethoven. Brahms. Bach. Just some of her favorites.
An only child in a Chinese household, her parents are very strict, but thoroughly decent people. When she hits a sour note, I hear them shouting in Chinese. I don’t know what they are saying, I can only imagine that it’s not, “Play it again Sam.” She starts the piece all over again until she can play it all the way through without mistakes. I have nothing against self-discipline, in fact I live by it, but too much can make you a little loopy. You gotta break away from it every once in a while.
The little prodigy knows this. She has a cheeky side too. A very cheeky side. Sometimes when she plays, it sounds like a dirge -- a funeral march. Sad. I wonder what goes through her mind while she pounds those keys. Some days she doesn’t seem to enjoy it. Other days, she lets loose and plays with fluidity. She doesn’t get to play with other kids. When she comes home from school, she goes straight to that black box and plays. For hours. She takes a break to eat and then she’s back at it.
While her little fingers are banging the ivories, I hear the wheels in her little head churning. I can feel her Soul trying to escape from the rigidity -- from the black and white prison that sits before her. She longs to join kids her own age, whose laughter and playfulness haunt her while she pounds on the door to escape, hoping to one day pick her fingers up and run.
The metronome ticks like a time bomb. Like the beginning of “Killer Queen,” by Queen when Freddy Mercury warbles,
“She keeps her Moet et Chandon in a pretty cabinet. 'Let them eat cake,' she says just like Marie Antoinette....”
I don’t know what her parents are planning for her, but I could see her playing at Nordstrom in an black evening gown with satin elbow gloves. Nordstrom is somewhat of an old fashioned department store that has the piano in the middle of the store near the escalators and viewable from all three levels. It’s kind of nice hearing it when you’re shopping. It makes you want to stay in the store longer and spend more money and possibly put tips in the glossy tip jar.
I think the pressure to be a prodigy gets to her and that is when her cheekiness strikes. They all came back from grocery shopping the other day and as soon as they got in, she was playing seconds later. Her parents went down to the car to get the rest of the groceries. I was shocked at what came next.
I thought Jerry Lee Lewis had broken in because I heard the piano intro to, “Great Balls Of Fire.” Yes, you heard me. The “You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain,” Jerry Lee Lewis. I’ve seen enough Time Life Music commercials to recognize Jerry’s music. It was like she was echoing his sentiments.
“...You broke my will, oh what a thrill, Goodness gracious great balls of fire...”
She went totally off the page in a rage. Her parents were in the garage for about five minutes and right before they returned, she returned to business as usual. This time she played with fierceness, like the angst that had built up in her 9 year old world had just been released. How does a 9 year old classical music prodigy know of Jerry Lee Lewis? She must have seen those same late night commercials that I had seen.
A rebel is among us. Her parents are none the wiser. They don’t know what happened in that five minutes -- but I do -- and now all of you know too. Let’s keep her secret safe shall we. I think she has a secret life. A real “Killer Queen.”
“Caviar and cigarettes/Well-versed in etiquette/Extr'ordinarily nice/She's a Killer Queen/Gunpowder, gelatine/Dynamite with a laser beam/Guaranteed to blow your mind anytime/To avoid complications she never kept the same address/In conversation she spoke just like a baroness/Met a man from China went down to Geisha Minor...”
I can see the bestseller now. Memoirs from a Jerry Lee Lewis Loving Wicked Piano Playing Prodigy Geisha. See, I told you, when you’re too disciplined, it can make you a little cuckoo. I must have too much time on my hands, but that’s another song, but then again discipline can be fun.
Self-discipline is a great spiritual aid, however all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Take note: A balanced life is the key to life. (No puns intended.)
