Making classical cool
August 21, 2008
I am a classically trained pianist, but I also play by ear. As you can imagine, as a kid, I DID not want to practice Bach Inventions or Mozart Concertos. I just wanted to play what I heard on the radio or at concerts and be cool. But, with the strict guidance of my parents, they would say, "You are going to learn it all so that you have the tools to do whatever you want in music someday." Of course, they were right and I have had an amazing musical journey. I wish Lang Lang had been around when I was a kid, because I would have thought he was cool. I may have taken classical music more seriously as something that could be fun and not just what I had to do to get to do the fun stuff. Now as an adult, I love playing Bach and Mozart at home to stay fresh and keep my reading skills up to par. So, I hope for more musicians like Lang Lang for my kids so that they see there is opportunity to be a great musician regardless of the genre.