Just a Piano Player
I quit!
What else do you want from me? I'm just a piano player!
No, I can't give an extra hour of my life to "musician's practice" at church (on an off-night, no less), not to speak of the "six hours a week" I'm expected to devote to practicing my "technique" that our church's music director has "kindly suggested" that I need.
I play quite well if I do say so myself. I've only been playing for the last twenty years (and ten of those years as the "main" keyboardist)! So I don't know any 9 chords or 13 chords and I can only play in five different major keys and one minor key. It hasn't been important so far so why should I learn now?
I just left the hospital visiting my terminally sick uncle and have to run over to pick up my kid at daycare and rush him over to the church for Bible quizzing practice. And this on an "off-night" at church. And, during Bible quizzing practice I meet with some guys at Starbucks for a Bible study I've been teaching. One of them is actually getting baptized this Sunday. Otherwise that would have been a perfect time to run through the list of songs Dave gave me yesterday night for Sunday's service tomorrow. Oh well, maybe I can sneak in a few minutes during adult Sunday School.
I manage to make it through most of the songs without glaring errors, even when our music director is sick and I have to pick the keys and play out strong. I had to skip new chorus practice last month because we live 20 miles from church and can't afford to drive separately (my youngest needs to go home straight after midweek service and can't stay the 45-60 minutes it takes).
So if you don't appreciate what little I have to give, then maybe I am not serving God's purpose and I should resign. Or at the very least take a sabbatical until my life can be reorganized to meet your needs.
NOT!
I don't really have an uncle in the hospital and my three year old is not yet memorizing Scripture! And most of the rest of the above is complete fiction as well. Just thought I would toss y'all a bone to chew on.
Certainly, I have written the foregoing as an exercise in negatively arguing against my beliefs. I believe every musician needs to practice and needs to spend some time in prayer specifically over their music-making and the worship portion of the service prior to the start of service. But our musicians are a limited supply and mostly volunteer corps living in a world where time is a commodity that cannot be bought but at all too high a price. Given the option of practice or prayer within a tight schedule, I will choose prayer!
I desperately wish, at times, I had six (or even one or two) hours a week to devote to practicing. Ah, the days of college, two, three, four hours a day in the practice room! Drudgery at the time but never thought I would miss it!
One last request: please do not misunderstand me -- this is FICTION -- the "attitude" and any perceived "tone of resentment" in the foregoing in no way reflects my actual beliefs regarding doing music ministry. I respect and honor all sincere and humble church musicians.
What am I listening to? Not much, these days. What am I reading? A draft of David Norris's "I AM."
What else do you want from me? I'm just a piano player!
No, I can't give an extra hour of my life to "musician's practice" at church (on an off-night, no less), not to speak of the "six hours a week" I'm expected to devote to practicing my "technique" that our church's music director has "kindly suggested" that I need.
I play quite well if I do say so myself. I've only been playing for the last twenty years (and ten of those years as the "main" keyboardist)! So I don't know any 9 chords or 13 chords and I can only play in five different major keys and one minor key. It hasn't been important so far so why should I learn now?
I just left the hospital visiting my terminally sick uncle and have to run over to pick up my kid at daycare and rush him over to the church for Bible quizzing practice. And this on an "off-night" at church. And, during Bible quizzing practice I meet with some guys at Starbucks for a Bible study I've been teaching. One of them is actually getting baptized this Sunday. Otherwise that would have been a perfect time to run through the list of songs Dave gave me yesterday night for Sunday's service tomorrow. Oh well, maybe I can sneak in a few minutes during adult Sunday School.
I manage to make it through most of the songs without glaring errors, even when our music director is sick and I have to pick the keys and play out strong. I had to skip new chorus practice last month because we live 20 miles from church and can't afford to drive separately (my youngest needs to go home straight after midweek service and can't stay the 45-60 minutes it takes).
So if you don't appreciate what little I have to give, then maybe I am not serving God's purpose and I should resign. Or at the very least take a sabbatical until my life can be reorganized to meet your needs.
NOT!
I don't really have an uncle in the hospital and my three year old is not yet memorizing Scripture! And most of the rest of the above is complete fiction as well. Just thought I would toss y'all a bone to chew on.
Certainly, I have written the foregoing as an exercise in negatively arguing against my beliefs. I believe every musician needs to practice and needs to spend some time in prayer specifically over their music-making and the worship portion of the service prior to the start of service. But our musicians are a limited supply and mostly volunteer corps living in a world where time is a commodity that cannot be bought but at all too high a price. Given the option of practice or prayer within a tight schedule, I will choose prayer!
I desperately wish, at times, I had six (or even one or two) hours a week to devote to practicing. Ah, the days of college, two, three, four hours a day in the practice room! Drudgery at the time but never thought I would miss it!
One last request: please do not misunderstand me -- this is FICTION -- the "attitude" and any perceived "tone of resentment" in the foregoing in no way reflects my actual beliefs regarding doing music ministry. I respect and honor all sincere and humble church musicians.
What am I listening to? Not much, these days. What am I reading? A draft of David Norris's "I AM."
posted by everettg at
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
1 Comments:
Everett,
I think every one of us volunteer musicans will find some common chord in your post (pardon the pun). If nothing else, it's a strong reminder to consider and express appreciation to those who give so much to make our churches the haven they are.
AA
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