Today is July 4th. Having celebrated the country’s big birthday yesterday, today seems like a good day to relax and do some reading. I have four books going.
- On the Kindle: A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter
- Library book: Your Caption Has Been Selected: More Than Anyone Could Possibly Want to Know About the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest by Lawrence Wood
- Bedtime reading: The Book of Earth: Vol. One of The Dragon Quartet by Marjorie B. Kellogg
- Studying: The Pianist’s Guide to Historic Improvisation by John J. Mortensen
The last book is a stretch for me. I doubt I’m the kind of pianist the author had in mind when he wrote the book, and music theory is my nemesis. But I would very much like to be able to improvise a Bach-style prelude on the spot, so I’m giving it a go. At least I can manage the first exercise in the book, which is to play the first four measures of one of Bach’s most famous preludes in every key. Many professional pianists would be unable to do that, and it makes me feel that I am not completely hopeless. I have “good ears,” as my former teacher often told me, and the piano keyboard is an old, familiar friend. Perhaps those skills will be enough to get me through. Win or lose, the attempt will sharpen my brain a bit.