An essay

Frankly, the blog seems rather dead, i am very postive that u guys have more to express. Anyway this is a essay that has relevance to music so i am going to post it up.

Children

I walked into the examination studio. Thoughts were running astray in my mind. I rubbed off the sweat on my palms against my pants. It was my music practical examination. I was taking the Grade 6 test. I took confident strides towards the piano. my heart was thumping at an incredibly fast rate. Although I was trying to portray the image of a candidate who was fearless of any challenges that lay ahead, deep down i was trembling with fear.

I started my piece entitled "Four Calling Birds". In terms of technical difficulties it was not fascinating. It did not require a virtuostic pianist but it required an instrumentalist who could feel and express what he had in mind. I had already told myself before i walked into the studio that I must not be frantic or flustered. I had to let the music flow.

I discarded all the pressure that was mounting in me. I imagined a beautiful picture in my mind. It was a portrait of a group of children. 'Magnificent' would be a word suitable to describe the artwork yet the only pity was that it was not coloured. My task was to use the enchanting piece I was playing to paint the adorable and innocent toddlers.

On the canvas, the radiant smiles on the faces of the children emitted happiness. They were dancing joyfully in the dense forest. They embraced nature, enjoying their lives to the fullest. The mere sight of these children would be alluring to anyone.

At the beginning of time, when God created Adam and Eve, he made sure they were perfect, creating them in the likeness on himself. He wanted us to be pure, ignorant and clueless about sins. That was how my portrait of music should be painted. I played every chord delicately to ensure that it was consonant. The sound that i produced was as graceful and elegant the way the children danced in the portrait. Their poise and every action teemed with sweetness and serenity. The children were flawless exactly the way God had wanted it to be.

I was like a master painter perhaps the famous renaissance artist, Michelangelo. I wanted to create a masterpiece comparable to the Sistine Chapel. Perfection was what I hoped to achieve. I played the melody which resembled the call of birds. It was like painting all the little canaries flitting above the heads of the children. Their chirping were lyrical and mesmerising. They were flying in tandem with the children's movement. Though the children were only toddler, they danced like excellent ballerinas. The children followed the gentle, meandering, lyrical lines of the chirping. My heart started to calm down, their sheer beauty had made me forget that i was at an examination.

I controlled my touch perfectly. The outcome up till then was to my desire expectation. Every tonal shade of colour i used to paint the children was fabulous. The hues matched consummately. Crimson sunset as backdrop. Trees with mahogany trunks. Children dressed in bright turquoise, orange and yellow radiating blissfulness. It was absolutely the way i wanted the sound to be. Music that exude beauty beyond the description of words.

The air-conditioner let out a soft groan. The sound reverberated against the four walls of the room. My pride swelled at that moment, due to the excellent performance that I was doing. I lifted my head and for that split second I lost focus.

I did not notice it but my finger was placed on the wrong key. After I pressed it, the sound was jarring. The dissonance of the destroyed the tranquility and balance. The vivacious picture had turned into a dull one. My picture was ruined. It was like landing a stroke of awlful dark navy blue onto the scarlet skies. It was like turning a sweet dream into a horrifying nightmare.

As the phrase ended, i took a deep breath. I needed a solution terribly quickly. The painting that had originally been described as fantastic only had one suitable word for it then. Devastating. As I search frantically for an answer, a few words came to my mind.

Music is spontaneous, react to the situation

These words made me continue the music. I followed my heart and expressed my feelings. I wanted the remaining of the music to be performed to perfection. I was like an elite painter adding tonal shades of red to let the dark gloomy skies regain the authentic crimson glow. The original peacefulness and azure feel was once again achieved.

I ended the piece by playing the last note subtly. After the echoes of the last note died down I looked towards the examiner.

He smiled.