Sunday, June 27, 2010

Yiruma; Reflections

Bonjour, mes amis!



I've been listening to this song on repeat all morning. And I was listening to more of Yiruma's pieces last night. It's eerily beautiful, the way it make me feel so peaceful and just forget all the worries the world holds. This is why I love music the way I do. This is why I could imagine myself dedicating the rest of my life to music... choir is definitely a favorite, getting to use your own body to create this type of magic is describable only with music itself. Yet, I've always loved the sweet sound of the piano.

I played the clarinet in fourth grade and liked it, but I hated practicing. I tried the flute the next year but I wasn't a big fan, so in sixth grade I returned to my clarinet. In seventh grade I gave up band, and therefore my instrument, in order to have other electives since I knew I wanted to learn French. How cruel, to make me choose between my two biggest passions, French and music! So for a Christmas present that year, my father signed me up for piano lessons. While I liked playing at the actual lessons, I hated practicing at home on our piano. It was out of tune, the keys were worn and chipped, and some of the strings must have been loose because a few keys, including middle C, you had to press hard on quickly to get any noise out of them. My teacher never knew I didn't practice, and she still called me a natural. I think she was just being nice, yet at the same time, I did quite well. Dad promised to fix it up but never did. He's forgetful and we aren't made of money. So, I quit piano lessons when the school year ended.

The next year I started voice lessons. I liked to sing but I was very nervous. I slowly became more comfortable singing with a piano and my voice teacher, but I still couldn't practice at home. My teacher was from New Zealand and she traveled back home for the holidays. I chickened out of calling her a month or so later, and we never heard from her again. We never got our money back, either. Little did I know, those voice lessons would help me get into the choir of my choice in high school.

I went to three Halloween parties that night, my sophomore year, and this was the last and the best of the ones. I went with my then-boyfriend who could conveniently drive to all of these places. He was also in band and choir, and he planned on majoring in music. At the party, I was sitting at a table with him and some friends who were chatting, and the friends got up to go dancing but I wasn't really in the mood to dance. Instead, I heard Cascada's Everytime We Touch, and started singing it with the best quality voice I knew how, just sort of having fun, you know? But he leaned in close to me to listen and I pulled away. Just like before, still rather shy when it comes to singing around others, though I'd gotten better. I kept singing. He did the same thing. I started laughing. Third time, I decided to ignore him and kept singing anyways. He told me I should join choir. So I did (with some debating, of course).

After some rushed practices with him and an old friend, the director gave me my voice check and decided to put me in the more experienced choir. While he felt that I was still at the other choir's level, he figured I would quickly outgrow them because of my prior music experience. I truly hope he was right about that, and I do feel like I grew a lot this year in my musical abilities. I had another voice check at the end of the year which would determine my placement in choir next year, either the same one or up to Concert Choir, which is the best and only mixed choir we have at the high school. This time instead of critiquing me, he actually complimented me. I'd say the hard work paid off.

As for summer? I'm dieing without choir. Every time I get in the car to go somewhere, I turn on the radio and sing along. An alumni was going to start a summer choir but never did. I begged my parents to buy a keyboard, fully intending on using it. Unfortunately it didn't come with a stand or anything, so we don't have any place for me to place that has a decent enough height got me to work with. If I get this job, which I will write about tomorrow, I plan on putting 1/3 of every paycheck away for college. The rest will be used for gas money and other things. The first thing I want to buy is a stand and stool for my keyboard. Then I can learn another one of Yiruma's beautiful pieces, "River Flows in You." The second thing I want to buy is an AZERTY keyboard. French and music are my two passions in life. I hope that somehow I can make them blend into my future, no matter what career I pursue.

À demain,
Mlle Delphine

Je suis desolée pour le petit utilisation de français! Mon réflexions était pense d'en anglais, alors je les écrivais en anglais.

6 comments:

The Beans said...

C'est une très jolie piéce de musique. Ça me rapelle un peu à "Les Jours Tristes" de Yann TIERSEN (celui qui a composé la musique du film Amélie). La musique cause des sentiments, des frissons. Je me souviens de beaucoup de choses en entendant une vieille chanson.

C'est pas grave si tu n'arrives pas à t'exprimer en français cette fois-ci. ^.^

-French Bean

The Beans said...

Ah. Désolée; je me suis trompée du titre de la chanson. En fait, elle s'appelle "Comptine d'un autre été: l'après-midi." :-P

-French Bean

Delphine said...

Ah, cette chanson est très belle, vraiment! Mais je ne voyais jamais le film. Aimez-vous Amélie? Quelles sont vos films français préférées?

The Beans said...

Le film d'Amélie est assez bizarre...les Français ne l'aiment pas trop (y compris moi). Eux, ils préfèrent un film qui s'appelle La Grande Vaudrouille.

Mes films préférés sont Les Choristes (The Chorus), Le Dîner de Cons (The Dinner Game), Jean de Florette/Manon des Sources (these are two intense, dramatic films that are part of the same story)et Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis.

Delphine said...

J'ai vu Les Choristes, je l'aime beaucoup! Et j'ai vu Jean de Florette et Manon des Sources, mais je le pensais comme si comme ça.

Qu'est-ce que "les Ch'tis"? Je ne comprends pas.

The Beans said...

Un "Ch'tis" est quelqu'un qui est originaire de la région Nord Pas-de-Calais. Ils sont connus en France d'avoir un accent assez particulier et d'être rustres, impolis. Mais le film (une comédie), il s'agit d'un monsieur qui vient du sud de France et qui s'installe dans cette région froide. Là, il decouvre que les stéréotypes associés aux Ch'tis sont pas vrais.
-French Bean