29 January 2013

A Journey Out of My Comfort Zone - Day 5

Welcome to the big public step out of my comfort zone. I am taking it on the 5th day of my journey in learning to play the piano. I must be crazy,  I don't even know the notes. But thanks to technology, my piano is teaching me and I am able to take these first basic lessons in my own pace. This means that in the past 5 days I played for hours on end or until my fingers hurt.


5 days into this self-imposed challenge (I think) I can play a beautiful melody called Annie (but only the right hand part). For those of you literate in music this might look and sound pathetic but for me, a complete novice to music this is a success.

I went from utter joy, to bitter disappointment, then to fear and today to stage fright.

On the first day of my piano practice I couldn't keep up looking at the program, showing me the keys I had to press  but today I know the sequence by heart. It was a long journey into starting to feel the rhythm and hearing the results of my playing. I hit the keys too hard or too light, too long or too short... 5 days can be a very long period when you are a complete beginner at something which is far off your comfort zone.

But let's stop theorizing. It is time to see the video I shot for you. So here I am, or rather, my only skilled hand, playing for you!

 

Let me know what you think, don't spare me any criticism! 

But most of all, think about how you can challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone. If I could do this, you can too!

Follow the rest of my journey:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

18 comments:

  1. Wait, you've never played before and you're already doing something that complex? You're doing SO well! I know the piano was guiding you, but I can tell you still know the notes. I'm really impressed!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Paige. I beat myself for the mistakes and can't seem to be perfectly happy but still I realize the big step I've made!

      Delete
  2. This is so wonderful! And your fingers are so graceful on the keys!
    Beautiful, Sonya. Brava! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Ana! Thank you for following along with my challenge and for always being so supportive.

      Delete
  3. Applause, applause, Sonya! I hope you are feeling pride for all you've accomplished in a mere 5 days!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, Lisa, thank you! You are too generous! Yes, it's been five days and looking back I cannot fathom how exactly I managed but I am proud with myself and I hope I have inspired other people to jump straight out of their comfort zones and enjoy the new feelings!

      Delete
  4. Sonya, this was great--and it's not an easy piece for a beginner--jumps all up and down the keyboard, so congrats on mastering it! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I had no idea it wasn't easy, Rachel! I guess this is an example of positive ignorance :) Now if you can give me any advice on how to include the left hand...

      Delete
    2. I say practice the left hand separately until you have it mastered at full speed, then slow down the tempo a lot, and then practice both together, slowly increasing the speed till you have it good. It might take a while, it's hard to do different things with both hands at first.

      Delete
    3. Ok, I'll do exactly that. Today I noticed that practicing the left hand is way harder indeed! Thank you, Rachel!

      Delete
  5. That was AMAZING!!! You did a great job and that song is so lovely. I bet your ready to master the piano.
    Valerie
    Everyday Inspired

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, we'll see, I hope I can go forward but first I need to learn some theory. Thanks for stopping by, Valerie!

      Delete
  6. Well done! I am excited for you to learn the left hand, it's so magical when you can do both!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sarah. Yes, I am looking forward to this magical moment!

      Delete
  7. You're doing so GREAT with this challenge!!! Very inspiring. I haven't been able to catch up on all the posts just yet, but I'm glad I stopped in to take a peek today. You really are doing well and encouraging others to get out of their comfort zone. =0)
    ~Kim

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kim, nice to have you follow up my experiment with my comfort zone. I really hope it is encouraging for anyone who reads!

      Delete