An unforgettable experience
This is the story of how I found myself sitting at the piano that was played by Fred Rogers. The very thought of it made me nervous and humbled and so very honored.
It’s a beautiful Steinway baby grand in a recording studio at WQED FM. Over the years, the piano has been played by Mister Rogers, but also by Johnny Costa and Marvin Hamlisch and many other accomplished and famous musicians. I am neither of those things, but I do play, and last week I was invited in.
As part of my work producing documentaries for WQED, I sometimes do interviews with FM host Jim Cunningham. Last week he interviewed me for a podcast and, in passing, suggested I might sit at the piano and play a bit of my favorite, ragtime. Jim had heard that I like to play Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag.”
“Come in and we’ll record you,” Jim said. And with that, I launched myself into my next mission: to not embarrass myself, WQED FM or, for that matter, my parents.
I began playing piano when I was about 5, guided by my mother who taught hundreds of piano students over five decades. In our home, practice came before fun, and by the time I was in high school, I had enough skill to conquer most any piece of music.
That is not to say I was ever any good. In junior high, I played in the Carnegie Awards juried competition – not because I had talent but because my teacher at the time said it would be a good experience. It was not. I fumbled my sweaty hands through a Haydn piece. When the jury’s assessment arrived in the mail a few weeks later, I read that I had a “poor grasp of musical style.”
My playing has not improved much since. I’ve managed to keep the rust off by sitting at my Steinway studio upright a few times a week and playing something I already know. But the invitation to play that baby grand brought a panic that had me practicing for at least an hour every evening, going over Joplin’s bouncy masterpiece over and over again. I would wake in the morning to find my forearms tight and sore.
Last week I sat at the baby grand in the FM studio, opened my music book, put my hands on the keys and began. The keys were tighter than those on my piano, causing me to apply more pressure with every chord. While Jim sat on the other side of the glass to record me, I started and stopped a few times, rubbing my sore hands together before waving to Jim to signal I was ready for another take.
It was not good. My tempo was off, I crunched some notes. On one take I made it all the way through, only to flub the final chord. After half a dozen takes, we finally had a decent one.
I don’t know how or if the radio station will use the recording of my performance. It will be OK with me if it’s never shared. The jury was right about my musical ability. It’s not great.
But the experience was great. I sat at the same piano that Marvin Hamlisch played. I made music on the same keys that Mister Rogers touched, where he played all those sweet songs of his. My performance wasn’t very special, but the playing of it was. Scott Joplin wouldn’t have found my version of “Maple Leaf Rag” so memorable, but I do, and always will.
Beth Dolinar can be reached at cootiej@aol.com.