One teacher at time

This afternoon, as I walked by the book shelf in the foyer, my eyes caught My Ultimate Favorite, Jean-Pierre Rampal's autobiography that I read yrs ago. I only heard him live once in my life, when I was 20 or 19, in Nagoya, Japan, his generous spirit impressed me. He died in 2000 at 78 and I thought the world turned lights off and everything went silent. The world is a good place thanks to all the musicians, well known or not, who enrich us and treat our soul with something no tangible elements could touch. anyhow, his book is hilarious and sometimes so deep and makes me want to tear up,,, I thought I would share one line from this book that always makes me smile, " I don't harbor regrets. I dont' wish I were twenty years old again. I don't want to be twenty -five again either, ,,,,I live for the next event, the next journey and the next meal".   And there is a part that made me cry when I read this book for the first time. "One's physical capabilities may diminish, but as long as expression, intelligence and maturity become stronger, one continues to progress. When my experience fails to make up for any lack in my technical skill, then I hope people will tell me that it is time for me to clean the flute for the last time. It would be better to do other things in the musical world than to disappoint the public that has been loyal and appreciative over the years. You must never make the audience pity you. "   I read this only a few years after he passed, I think. It made me realize then why he stopped playing and conducted instead, during the last few years when he was still active in public.  His heart failure could not have given him the same breath control and the stamina. But then I thought, sports folks get there so much sooner than any musicians. plus, musicians don't do those things that give them concussion all the time to shorten the years of full cerebral capacity.

I am glad that many musicians influenced me in my youth enough for me to stick to it to a degree. I was never a strong music student either in piano or flute,,, just a mere hobby level student still benefitted from generous teachers who continued to keep me as one of their students because they knew I loved it and I did work hard to my limited capacity. I did not much with piano after high school but I met a kind flute faculty during my university years and I even enjoyed being a member of the flute choir on campus for a year.

Life is very interesting. I am blessed that I can continue to enjoy music....I think my piano teacher will be glad to know that I still appreciate piano very much. She was a good teacher who was patient and also realistic. She sat down with me one day when I was probably about 9th or 10th grade. There were a few others in my same grade who studied under her who definitely were headed for music career. She wanted to make sure that my expectation was realistic and that we were on the same page. I was so relieved to know that she was aware that I was not a material to go into music seriously. She also told me that she enjoyed teaching me and she was not discouraging me to stop. She also understood how I occasionally struggled with my younger brother who was always ahead of me. I understood that we all had different ability and we were to enjoy what we had.

Looking at Erik's hands and fingers, we often laugh about how similar the bone, nail, knuckle structures are and how different the fine motor capabilities are. Life goes on. I appreciate the teachers who made a difference in my life and encouraged me musically, I remember them with such special memories,,,one teacher at a time...

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