Of Piano & Philosophy

Author: Debbie Zeller

  • The song

    I think we captured the song this time. Thanks for listening.

  • More literature and a collegial discussion

    Read a story by Joyce Carol Oates about a nun and a more or less crazily serious college student named Allen Weinstein, In the Region of Ice, and enjoyed it thoroughly although the ending was not happy. In fact I thought the beginning was some of the funniest stuff I had ever read. Had a…

  • Literature

    Edna O’Brien’s A Journey was the first story I read for the Women’s Experiences in Women Authors English class I am auditing. A very vivid story about a couple having an affair. I want to read more by Edna O’Brien; she is Irish. And I wrote my first song, Single Again, a somewhat humorous song…

  • My teacher is right

    Of course my teacher Josh Fadenholz is right; it is better to have two pieces on the road to perfection than a lot of pieces more or less sloppy. Discipline! But also a little time for the pretty pieces that are on hold right now, like Rustles of Spring by Christian Sinding.

  • My weekend begins

    Luckily I have Fridays off and my weekend begins on Thursday evening. Discipline! I had my piano lesson today. Discipline was the watchword. Playing with dynamics and other nuances, playing triplets and then eighth notes correctly: I need to focus on the Bach and Beethoven and crawl before I walk. Hands separately, line by line,…

  • day after my birthday

    Well, we did have the cake in Class Voice and sang Over the Rainbow and Shenandoah; Pete picked me up and took me to the Guardians. We were probably just 30 feet behind home plate and noticed that the ump put his hand on the catcher’s back when hunkering down for the pitch. No one…

  • My birthday

    Hi everyone! Melissa Sue Anderson of Little House on the Prairie fame has exactly the same birthday. I got a carrot cake at the Food Pantry, and maybe we’ll serve it up for Class Voice. Went into a practice room, played a few Grieg lyric pieces and Beethoven Sonata #20, Bach #14, Rustles of Spring…

  • Matthew 20:1-16, Vineyard Workers: it’s not too late

    The parable of the workers in the vineyard was the Gospel reading in church yesterday. The idea is that those who come to salvation late in life get the same reward as those who come to faith early in life and bear “the heat of the day.” In my twenties and thirties I scoffed at…

  • Saturday after the concert

    I made homemade fresh beets, boiling them for 45 minutes and then running cold water over them and peeling them, slicing them and serving them to myself with margarine. I also cleaned the bathroom and vacuumed our living room. The noise was loud and I was moved to say “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh” on a note that complemented…

  • This is a Video I’d Like You to See

    I find this very beautiful.