Classical Piano Sonatinas

Now I don't know how many people know this about me, but I love to play classical piano sonatas and sonatinas.  I like to play them really loud and really really fast.  I guarantee that about half of the FAC could hear me just about 10 minutes ago.

The question is, if you like to play classical piano so much, why don't you ever play it in a professional setting?  Or at least have a lesson or something?

And the answer is because as of the last year or so, I only play classical music when I'm really upset.  I will play contemporary or romantic music if I'm just in a bad mood and need uplifting, and I will play Christian music when I'm in a good mood.  But I only ever play classical when I need to cool down or stop myself from crying.

But wait, Sara, why is this the only time you've played classical this year so far?  That's because I haven't really been upset until now.  Not upset as in angry, upset as in heart racing, palms sweating, can't talk, suddenly become depressed upset.

So here's what went down today:

1:15 went to Scholar's
1:15-1:45 went into emotional turmoil
1:45-2:15 symptoms began to decrease
2:15-2:20 sudden reoccurrance of symptoms
2:20-2:25 got piano books
2:30-2:50 played classical music very loud and very fast
3:00 began writing blog

Let's break it down even further between 2:30 and 2:50.

I began with a song I knew I had under my fingers, and might still be memorized:
Sonata No. 6 in C Minor third movement  by Giovanni Battista Pescetti

While playing this I started thinking about why I was upset.  "What's going on?  Why is this bothering me so much?  What can I do about it?"

I still don't have any answers.


I thought for a challenge I would move to:
Invention in A Minor   by JS Bach

Ok, I admit it, JS Bach is not a classical composer, he is a baroque composer.  I still like him, and the tricky notes and fingerings kept me from getting more upset.  I never completely mastered this song for a recital so I only have motor memory for some very difficult sections.


From Foreign Lands and Places [or people]  by Robert Schumann

I actually had forgotten that I had ever learned to play this song and was pleasantly surprised at how well my body remembered it.  It allowed for a lot of thinking.

I hypothesized that I was probably upset because of some other stuff that has happened in my life previously.  I also have a problem with conflict, even if I am not the target of the aggression.  I spoke up in class only because I was confident that my information was correct and that it tied directly to the conversation and was a viable theory.

I also thought about how this song was kind of like my emotions today.  There's a nice gentle first section which you repeat.  Then in the middle there's a louder kind of clankier section (that's scholars class) then you end all nice and soft again.


Waltz in B Minor  by Frederic Chopin

Chopin is also not a classical composer.  This doesn't matter because I only got through the first page of this song before I had had enough of it.  I worked this song up probably five or so years ago and was so proud of it.  Since then I haven't really played it and I was not impressed with my skill level.


Sonatina in C Major  by Friedrich Kuhlau

This is by far my go-to unhappy song.  I have distinct memories of coming home from school right after my first boyfriend broke up with me and not even talking to my mother, just going straight to the piano and playing this over and over again.

It's only a C-level piece and I've played it for years so it led to more thinking.

"Why does playing piano make me feel better?"  Because I always play piano when I'm upset.  It's something I can do that doesn't require anyone else.

"Should I become a performance major if I get so much enjoyment out of this?"  No.  I play piano for me, and me alone.  Never will I subject myself to someone else's willy-nilly concert they want me to play at.  I will play whatever I want, whenever I want, with whomever I want.


Sonatina in D Major  by Muzio Clementi

This is the last piece I played, and I picked it to go last because it was one of my proudest accomplishments in piano.  While not actually all that difficult now, when I picked it it was far longer and technical than I expected when I decided to memorize it for a competition.




Anyways, what should one get out of this blog post?  That I really like to play classical music and I'm sorry if I interrupted anyone's practice in the FAC.  Also, that I don't really want to discuss what happened in Scholar's today and thank the Lord [Gandhi's in the sky] that today is almost over and yesterday will never come back.