Hello everyone! My name is Erica, and I will be telling you about my hobby. That hobby is me playing the piano.
I started playing the piano since I was around six. It was an electronic toy piano, so I explored its keys as I started playing it. Of course, since I was young, I had no idea what I was doing. However, I enjoyed listening to song inserts in the piano but also liked the sound of the keys. Sometimes, I enjoyed singing along with the inserts playing, but it was rather gibberish rather than actual English words.
It wasn't until I had played my first song, Für Elise. Unfortunately, I did not complete it, as it became complicated for me to finish the following song. I decided to play certain songs around my level. Don't worry, I can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It's a pretty easy song after all. However, I also played certain traditional songs that are pleasant to my ears. I never risked myself playing such a complicated song after what happened. I would say that it's because I was young at the time, but it's not a proper excuse because kids my age at the time know how to play hardcore songs. Then there's me, not going too overboard with anything. It's good because I am starting out with the basics, but bad because there are kids better than me.
My family has gotten a new keyboard since 2012. It was similar to what I have played at my friend’s house, though the number of keys is smaller with ours. The experience was the same until I played my first, full song. That song is Canon in D Minor. It was a beautiful piece in my ears, so I decided to try it. It was hard at first, but as time goes, I began to play it without stopping myself. I also play other songs, such as Minuet in G Major, Jericho, Home Sweet Home, and Amazing Grace. There’s more, but that is all I can think of for now. Looking back at it, I sure did play a lot of songs at the time. It officially became one of my hobbies since that following year.
Despite having a keyboard, however, I realized that it didn’t feel dynamic at all. I have had this feeling ever since I took actual piano lessons at the age of fourteen. My teacher expects me to have a piano that has weight to it. By that, she means to be able to play in forte (loud) and/or piano (soft). Even though I can play the piano well, I realized that there is so much more than just simply playing it. I began to learn certain terms, such as legato, spiccato, crescendo, decrescendo, and definitely more. Because of this, my teacher helped me improve my skills in piano.
As of 2015 (the same year I started doing lessons), I began to do some covers. This one song I began to play was Promise, which is a revised version from the game Silent Hill. It was pretty easy as I keep playing. However, once I played that song, I could never stop playing it. I still play this song to this day. Greens Greens is also another one I played, though I wasn’t able to finish it, probably because how wide the keys are when playing the notes.
Following up that year, I actually began playing a lot more well-known songs, such as My Heart Will Go On, Kiss The Rain, Time Boils The Rain, Victory and that one sad violin song. I completely forgot the name, but it was done by a violinist. Anyways, I was able to complete a few songs, but not all of them. This is probably due to my time management when I have to do eighteen other songs for a recital. Still, I began to play much more songs than that much. I even started learning the chords for the music ministry.
To this day, playing the piano is becoming one of my biggest interests. Sure, I had conflicts, but it never stopped me from playing. One day, I will hopefully become a master of the piano. However, that will take a lot of time and dedication, and there are other hobbies I enjoy focusing on. Still, playing the piano is something I would do for a long time.
By Erica Garbino