Gymnopédie No. 1
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What Satie is teaching me.
- Fast and quiet
It’s very natural to play allegro forte, fast and loud. It’s much harder to play allegro piano, fast and quiet. Just because my days are busy, quickly moving from one task to another, that doesn’t necessitate stress. It’s possible to play quickly and quietly. So I endeavour to move through my day with calm alacrity.
- Crossover is inevitable
That top note of a right-hand chord is occasionally played on the left. Sometimes the right hand must trespass into the left-hand range. No two areas of life are ever completely separate. Often, contexts will cross into each other. Friends from work become friends out of work, and vice-versa. The goal is a harmonious balance, not separation. Systems that confine life into discrete taxonomies are flawed.
- Big leaps take practice
Jumping over an octave into a complex chord takes a bit of practice. It’s easy to transition when one task is closely related to the next. Large changes in context are much harder. At first, context switching is draining. But with dedicated practice, it’s possible to improve (though I’m still not very good at it).