Cristofori's Dream to Mine

When I was taking lessons with my first piano teacher, I always looked up to the older students. They seemed so tall, so mature and grown-up, and most of all, so good at the piano! I wanted to be like them, to play the pieces they could play. During recitals I liked to close my eyes while I listened to the older students and pretend it was me. I imagined performing those pieces, seeing my teachers and friends act so impressed and amazed at my talent. It never occurred to me that I actually could

There was one piece in particular, Cristofori's Dream, that was the pinnacle of all piano accomplishment in my mind. It was a nine-page song, and I thought it was just absolutely beautiful. It was a New Age composition by David Lanz, and more than any other piece I dreamed of playing it.

Years passed, and before I knew it, my teacher pulled out a red plastic bag from the music store during my lesson. Just as a service to her students, she would always buy the music for us and we'd pay her back for it. Usually we got new music when we finished the previous level, but this time she said she had something special.

She pulled out for me a large, gray book and turned to a page near the back. She handed the music to me saying, "I think you'll enjoy this." When I looked down, I couldn't believe what I saw.

"Really?!" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes, this won't be too hard for you," was all she said.

I didn't understand it. She wasn't trying to make it a big scene, this wasn't one of those rite-of-passage moments for piano students. She didn't seem to realize exactly what this particular piece meant to me, but there I was, just a sixth grader, holding Cristofori's Dream, my dream piece, in my lap. I told her it was something I had looked forward to since I was a little piano student. She only smiled and said, "well, then you'll have some fun with it."

And I did. Only a few weeks later did I consider Cristofori's Dream conquered. I played it at my next recital, and joyed in the fact of becoming the pianist I had dreamed of being. It was one of my most wonderful piano moments, except for one thing: I had imagined the moment a little bit bigger.

Once I finished playing the piece I felt no different than before. Sure, I had managed my dream piece, but it wasn't anything big or important. It was no impromptu, no sonata, no concerto or rhapsody. In fact, from a music theorist's standpoint, it was quite a simple piece. I felt a little bit smaller. While after years of practice and hard work I had become one of the "older students" I had once so idolized, I also realized at that moment that New Age was not exactly the top of the achievement pyramid. But perhaps I had climbed the first stair. I was closer.

Closer is something that has propelled me through various levels of achievement in music throughout my life. Looking back on it, I sometimes wonder how it was that I ever set my sights on something that now seems a very low expectation. But then I remember that at the time, it was all I could see. Nothing can diminish the level of inspiration Cristofori's Dream gave me when I was a younger and less experienced pianist, just as nothing can compare to the self-satisfaction I feel when I compare my current goals to the ones I held previously. Once I had desired more than anything to be the "older student." Now I desire to be something even greater. A professional musician. And while this time there is no specific piece to push me forward, I revel in the memory of seeing something, dreaming of it, and achieving it.

Imagine yourself where you want to be

then make that dream a reality. :)

Just thought I'd share one of my personal mottos.

:D