Tifa on Cloud: “like that ties up your heart, making you yearn to be with that person for the rest of your days”
Archive for the ‘piano’ Category
Piano: Tifa’s Theme from Final Fantasy VII
Posted in Art, Games, piano, tagged Final Fantasy VII, Tifa's Theme on October 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Tifa on Cloud: “like that ties up your heart, making you yearn to be with that person for the rest of your days”
Mononoke Hime
Posted in anime, Hobbies, piano, tagged Ashitaka and San, Drawing, Ghibli, Mononoke Hime, piano on July 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Beautiful soundtrack. The anime reminds us to respect nature and all living beings.
Peaches: Super Mario (Piano & Vocal by Sky)
Posted in Hobbies, Music, piano, tagged Peaches, piano, Super Mario on June 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Singing while playing the piano is something I’d like to learn at some point. But my boy seems to have beaten me to it.
Porco Rosso
Posted in anime, Art, Music, piano, Song Lyric, tagged Porco Rosso, Theme of Marco and Gina, Toki ni wa mukashino hanashi o on April 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »
One man (pig) chooses to live freely, in a place mired in fascism and depression.
“A pig that can’t fly is just a pig”
“I only fly for myself.”
Porco
One of my favorite anime themes:
Toki ni wa Mukashino Hanashi o; Occasionally shall we talk about the old days?
Lyrics and music by Kato Toki
時には昔の話をしようか
Occasionally shall we talk about the old days?
通いなれた なじみのあの店
That old familiar restaurant we used to go
マロニエの並木が窓辺に見えてた
A row of horse chestnut trees visible from the window
コーヒーを一杯で一日
A cup of coffee a day
見えない明日を むやみにさがして
Recklessly searching for that uncertain tomorrow
誰もが希望をたくした
Where everyone entrusted their hopes
ゆれていた時代の熱い風に吹かれて
Blown by the hot winds of a changing era
体中で瞬間(とき)を感じたそうだね
We seem to felt the instant in our bodies
道端で眠ったこともあったね
Weren’t there times we slept by the roadside?
どこにも行けない みんなで
All of us, with nowhere to go
お金はなくても なんとか生きてた
Although we had no money, we managed to live somehow
貧しさが明日を運んだ
Future carried by poverty
小さな下宿屋にいく人もおしかけ
A number of us would go to a small lodge house
朝まで騒いで眠った
Slept until morning amidst noises
嵐のように毎日が燃えていた
Everyday burning like a storm
息がきれるまで走った そうだね
We ran until we had no more breath. Isn’t that so?
一枚残った写真をごらんよ
Look at that one remaining photograph
ひげづらの男は君だね
You’re the man with the moustache, right
どこにいるのか今ではわからない
I don’t know where you are right now
友達もいく人かいるけど
Although some of our friends are here
あの日のすべてが空しいものだと
Everything about those days was empty
それは誰にも言えない
That is something no one can say
今でも同じように
Even now, it’s the same
見果てぬ夢を描いて
Painting those unfulfilled dreams
走りつづけているよね どこかで
You keep on running right, somewhere out there
Keith Jarrett
Posted in Art, Music, piano, Uncategorized, tagged Interview, Jazz, Keith Jarrett, piano, Rick Beato on March 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Rick Beato did an excellent interview with Keith Jarrett, providing nice background on Keith and jazz. Keith’s reactions to listening to his old piano performances are amazing to witness.
I came across Keith Jarrett’s albums when I was in university and have been a fan since. Tim Harford talked about how he turned an unplayable piano into one of the best live performances in Koln.
Keith: Once I was working on some piece and I said, I don’t think I can play this. It’s too hard.
Keith’s mom: Can you play the first note?
Keith: Yes
Keith’s mom: Can you play the second note?
Keith: Yes
Keith’s mom: Then you can play it.
Life Will Change
Posted in anime, Art, Music, piano, tagged Drawing, Life Will Change, Persona 5 on February 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Sky plays his favorite song from the Persona 5 game. Will life change if we take off our masks? Or perhaps we all need a place to hide.
Soundtracks From Up on Poppy Hill
Posted in anime, piano, Song Lyric, tagged From Up on Poppy Hill on February 4, 2023| 1 Comment »
I like the soundtracks from Ghibli’s From Up on Poppy Hill, such as Summer of Farewells, Reminiscence, and Sukiyaki. They fit well into its simple story, with a touch of nostalgia.
Natou breakfast, Dining table gossips
Daily flags raise, Boy falling from the sky
Chaotic clubhouse, Quiet teamwork
Bicycle ride, After school stroll
Remember the past, Embrace the future
Sukiyaki (Ue of Muite Arukou) Lyrics:
上を向いて歩こう
涙がこぼれないように
思い出す 春の日
一人ぽっちの夜
上を向いて歩こう
にじんだ星をかぞえて
思い出す 夏の日
一人ぽっちの夜
幸せは 雲の上に
幸せは 空の上に
上を向いて歩こう
涙がこぼれないように
泣きながら 歩く
一人ぽっちの夜 思い出す
秋の日 一人ぽっちの夜
悲しみは星のかげに
悲しみは月のかげに
上を向いて歩こう
涙がこぼれないように
泣きながら 歩く
一人ぽっちの夜 一人ぽっちの夜
Let’s walk with our heads held high
So the tears won’t spill over
Remembering a spring day
A night all alone
Let’s walk with our heads held high
Counting the blurred stars
Remembering a summer day
A night all alone
Happiness is on the clouds
Happiness is in the sky
Let’s walk with our heads held high
So the tears won’t spill over
Walking while crying
A night all alone
Remembering an autumn day
A night all alone
Sadness is in the shadow of the stars
Sadness is in the shadow of the moon
Let’s walk with our heads held high
So the tears won’t spill over
Walking while crying
A night all alone
A night all alone
Adult Learner, Patience, and Relaxed Longing
Posted in Hobbies, piano, Reflection, Uncategorized, tagged adult learner, patience on December 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I started learning piano around the same time as my kids. It seems like they have different mindsets and perceptions of time. My boys don’t seem to have the same urgency to get results, nor do they get affected much by other good performers. In contrast, adult beginners tend to want results more quickly and have high expectations from the beginning.
I like this passage from The Art of Practicing:
Comfort, ease, and joy can be cultivated through practice. To do this, we must give up excessive ambition and the desperate struggle for results, and let ourselves feel the pain of our longing, of having to wait to make music the way we want to. We can learn to relax with this longing and to enjoy its soft, warm presence in the heart.
Presence is the state of being fully present, of body, mind, heart, and sense perceptions being completely engaged with the activity of the present moment. For a performer, this means not only being engaged with the music but letting the energy of the audience affect you. In practicing, it means being at ease in your surroundings and being aware of each movement and each sound that you make.
It’s a good reminder to be more present during daily practice, patient with results, and to cultivate a sense of relaxed longing.
The Perfect Pitch Rivals
Posted in Daily Life, Hobbies, piano, Relationship, tagged Family, perfect pitch, piano on December 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »
My two boys and I started learning the piano at around the same time two years ago.
We came up with a friendly competition, that whoever passes the ABRSM level 8 first would be entitled to a Grand Piano for the family. Qualifications don’t matter to me at this point, but it’s nice to have a little shared goal.
One day I noticed that the boys have good ears and can remember lots of soundtrack music from the video games we played. After some research and testing, I found out that they both have perfect/absolute pitch (i.e. can identify the notes/chords played on a piano without reference note).
Suddenly my little rivals seem to have levelled up with a special talent (along with the other advantages kids have), while I can only practice harder and smarter, and hope that I won’t be left in the dust.
I added some of their recordings to my channel to document our journey together (the recordings they like and want to post).
Fleeting Moment: Reflections on 2 years of piano learning
Posted in Art, Hobbies, Music, piano, Reflection, tagged moment, piano, reflection on November 20, 2022| 1 Comment »
Wouldn’t it be nice to entertain friends with music after a meal, jam with others when we feel like it, or just express ourselves through music anytime?
I started learning piano at the age of 37. After about 2 years, I have learned and recorded some music I like (here‘s a link to the recordings). I wish I could play these pieces whenever and wherever I want. But in reality, after finishing a piece, I tend to forget it quickly once I stop practicing. Something that I could play from memory one day, would feel like a new piece after a few week’s gap.
Perhaps this is because I don’t have music training when I was young, or don’t have enough hours of practice. A friend told me he doesn’t forget the music he learned while he was a teenager and can still play them after decades.
Space repetition (refreshing my memories by practicing a piece periodically) is probably the best way to keep them in my long term memory. But given time limit and the infinite number of music I want to learn, I haven’t been revisiting the songs I’ve learned so far.
So for now, every recording is a fleeting moment. Something I can experience but can’t hold onto, a bit like trying to hang onto our peak physical or mental ability as we age. While sad, it’s not as bad as some other aspects of life. Unlike parenting a kid at a certain age, once that period is gone, it’s gone forever. The hope is that as my piano skill gets better, the moment might last longer. Or at the minimum, I can relearn a piece faster and perhaps better.
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