Back to Bach ... and Guaraldi and maybe Handel too

One of the many consoling tips Tiina has suggested when I am breaking my head on some aspirational piece of music -- a piece that is a little beyond me but that I tie myself into knots trying to play anyway -- is to time travel.

Instead of remaining mired in "Back to Bach," I can go back instead to pieces from bygone accordion times. Like "Charlie the Chimp." Kidding! Not that far back.

The idea is that the magical ease with which I will now be able to play them will demonstrate my progress and fill me with cheer. 

Unfortunately my memory doesn't seem to operate the same way it once did. While there are piano pieces I learned as a teenager that are branded on my brain forever, some accordion pieces learned much more recently don't ring any bells at all.

I am fairly certain that if someone brings a keyboard to my deathbed, I will still be able to bang out the Chopin "Waltz in A-flat Major" before expiring.

But now the objects of my study just don't take hold in the same way.

This was proven to me just before Christmas when with great excitement I brought the music for Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time Is Here" to class.

Tiina pointed out that I had also played it last Christmas. 

It seems that even my mistakes were the same ones I made last year -- though I honestly don't know how she could claim to know that. If I have to ask my loved ones how old I am on my birthday, I don't see how Tiina can recall my problematic jump from the D flat to the F sharp D7 chord from the year before.

So this "go back to earlier music to see how far you have come" stuff is not a guaranteed pick-me-up. I'm just saying.

Tiina did however give me another excellent accordion tip to help me in my struggles with "Back to Bach" that I'll report on later.

Until then -- we have apparently survived the most depressing day of the year. Yippee!

I think I will just have a go at "Charlie the Chimp" now.