Thoughts Over 80

Things I've Learned Over the Years

Page begun on July 6, 2024











David Milne and Boots









To be continued...

A Strange Realization

In the 1970s and 80s I played at least two gigs a day. The one I'm thinking of right now was at the Ramada Inn in Southfield, Michigan. I played a cocktail hour from 5 - 8:00, five days a week. 

The type of music I played would be called "background" music. People came in after office hours and relaxed with each other. They would talk about the days events and so forth, so to be playing high-powered ragtime would be obnoxious. The piano player always has to remember that his job is to enhance the environment and not distract from it. (A concert performance is different of course. People come there to hear the piano player.) The hotel always put out a huge spread of complimentary hors d'oeuvres for everyone. 

The type of stuff I played was Dr. Zhivago music, Mona Lisa, slow blues, and anything lacking a toe-tapping beat. I actually like these styles so that's not the point of this post. What I'm getting at is this:

Some days I though my playing was just terrible. No matter how simple the song or melody, it just didn't sound right to me, but strangely the customers were saying I sounded great. I began to study myself and discovered something mind blowing: I had just as many "good days" as I did "bad." Hmm. 

Over a period of about the next six months I discovered that the ease of playing the piano for me ranged along a scale of 1 - 30 every month. For every day I thought I was terrible, there was a corresponding day when it was the easiest thing possible for me. Gradually I noticed all the in-between days filling in, and whether I was "right on" or feeling "so-so," the customers were always enjoying it. The problem was my own perception of myself and my playing, and I eventually noticed it had been there all along, for all those years. 

With this knowledge I was able to track myself. On "day 1" (bummer day) I wouldn't attempt the high level pieces but would instead play things that came close to the top. (continued)>