Photography by Wendy

Today a post on twitter about Mozart‘s birthday got me thinking about my own history with Mozart, and with music in general.

When I was younger, I played the piano. Over the years, it somehow gradually became less and less a part of my life. I started taking lessons when I was 8 and played until my early 20s. I had other music lessons in high school and in college, though my real love and focus was the piano. I always had a particular fondness for the Baroque and Classical period. I liked to play a lot of J.S. Bach and Mozart. The music was fun to play and I loved how it sounded.

I really find myself missing it, especially since I no longer have a piano. When I hear a piece of music that I used to play, my fingers get all twitchy and will automatically start forming the right motions, playing along on whatever surface is handy. I can’t even help it. It feels weird to not play!

It was interesting, I did take some time off for a while and then went back to it. I found that my brain knew what to do and I had the muscle memory, but I had lost a lot of the hand strength that I once had. It was frustrating to know exactly what I was supposed to be doing but to not have my hands cooperate.

I hope to have a piano again in the future. Until then, poor Mozart is in storage. Happy Birthday, Mozart! I miss you!