I quit taking piano lessons at the age of 17 when my teacher wanted me try improv. It was a convenient time to stop as college loomed closer, but truth be told, I didn’t like the idea of leaving the notes on the page and wandering off to see where the music would take me.
Fast forward to my first piano lesson at the age of 61. Driving there that evening I rehearsed my message. “Anything but improv.” Sitting down at the piano with Bob who is a scientist by day, a musician by night and any other time he can find his way to a key board, his first words were, “And we’re going to play around with improv.”
I had two choices. Get up and leave, or take a chance out in the wilds of improvisational playing. I stayed put and starting that very first night we had fun chasing the music together.
In the long run I cut my piano lessons short, not because of anything other than some of the things that life threw my way, which is exactly like improv. It is about mastering the essential chords and keys of your life, and then following the music where it takes you.
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