Autumn leaves
I am sure many musicians have heard of the name. Its one of the most liked musical transitions which has spawned many canarous imitations. This week, i have felt the full force of its potential, and I am glad to have weathered the inclement storm to be able to impart this advise to many inspiring musicians: KEEP THE TRANSITION SIMPLE!!!!!!!
‘He was wounded’, a christian piece with one such autumn leaves transition, devoured half my soul as i was honoured with the assignment of learning how to play the song. The tempo was 120. The chords were wicked. The 3 bars of transition were not salubrious for the fingers. Maybe it was because I am not proficient with the piano, but it took me more than 100 tries to make it sound correct. When it finally came through as ‘perfect’, my hands gave way. I was not able to play the piano for at least 12 hours. Maybe i was weak, maybe I was not rusty. But i wanted to be able to pull it off.
In front of my lord and the many people who would be there to witness my performance, I was not able to say I could not do it. And so i played those three bars over and over again till it was finally perfected. But I cried.
For the numbness and stress i felt in my fingers, my lord felt the so much more pain from the nails through his hands. For the wretched things i did and brought upon myself, he carried a cross which bore it all. For when I was living my life as i see fit, he prayed for my salvation in his name.
But when i played the piece, the meaning of the song was not there. ‘He was wounded’ was just another song. I was mocking my beloved lord with my own selfish pride. I just wanted to finish the song. But as i tire from my relentless attempts, I was feeling a little bit of what christ might have been feeling while he was on the cross. The drying of his blood, the tearing of his flesh. And yet after all he has done for me, I was only intent on making the piece sound nice.
So when I was able to play again, I prayed before I played the piano. That the wound of the lord can be felt by those that hear me play. That all would listen to the music and not say, ” The pianist is good.”, but rather, ” So that was what the lord was going through for me.”. And I am more intent than ever to play the music which would resound his glorious name. For what is on the line is not my performance as a musician. It is the chance of making everyone understand the agony which the lord went through, for them.
