A Bored, Needy Piano

We haven’t spent any real time together in so, so long. What are you doing these days? Always with those notebooks, are you? Always typing away on that little computer, too, are you? All of those other things that occupy you, you and I know I could never compare to – never in my lifetime. Oh, if only I was capable of providing the same variety as the infinite possibilities of strokes you could on a sheet of paper, or surpass whatever superpower a computer wields. A lot of the time I wish you and I could be more than just you instructing me what to sing, and me singing as you play. Do you wish that, too? I could never know.

So, you say you have work to get done? It’s the university again – I should have known. To tell you the truth, I wish you had continued to stay in school, because at least while school was still a necessary part – an important part – of your life, I was too. I helped you in one of your subjects, and we spent real time working together in those (albeit few) years… We experienced moments under pressure, and moments of improvisation and genuine fun. Now that you’re in university, I’m afraid that we’ve drifted apart. And you are working? Studying? What do you do? Are you concentrating? Can you concentrate? Suppose that’s what your coffee is for, then. Your now-cold coffee. And it looks like you’ve noticed, too. (We must be on the same wavelength!) Okay then, up you go, you do what you need to do. Warm your drink.

Beep! Beep!

Buzz…

And here you are. You take a seat on my chair. There’s not much you can do in a minute-thirty.

Ding-di-di-di-di-di-di-diiing…

That’s your first scale in a while!

But, oh, that’s right. Nowadays, you only ever come to me when you have something in the microwave running. Or whenever you want to postpone your time to eat dinner with the rest of your family, or until the kettle finishes its boiling. And what do we do in that time? Nothing more than a few chords, or the same segments from the same two pieces over, and over. You play the same keys; I hammer all the same strings. And at this point, I’m afraid my insides might just snap.

Diiing, di-ding, ding…

Oh, pity! That’s that tune. You’ve expressed time and time again your longing for wherever that small fragment of a melody originated from. I’ve heard you emulate what you could remember from your old classmate’s performance nearly four years ago. When you arrived home that day, you never said anything, but the awe you felt from hearing that girl play carried on into the way you did here. The determination and curiosity that radiated from you made me feel as if I was experiencing the performance myself (despite the fact that I only knew one part of one melody in the entire piece and nothing else).

Beep, beep, beep, beep!

Your once-cold beverage is heated again. And you’re back at your little computer once more. Until next time you wait for something, then. 

I’m bored. I’m so, so bored. And so are you. Another research essay? I know how weak you are with those. It’s too bad I’m no help. What are you even doing on that little computer right now? Are you doing your work, yet? No? You’re scrolling? I see, you’re searching for music to study to. Don’t take your time with that, though, or you’ll be there for an hour. I’ve seen that before. Just choose anything at this point. Anything so you can get your work done earlier, get your free time sooner. 

It has been five minutes. 

You’ve found something? So, a video something along the lines of ‘You are a scientist working in your basement in the early 1900s’. Sounds appropriate enough to help you focus. You give it a shot. The first soundtrack plays. It’s all piano. What’s this? A familiar rhythm, but a bit somber. Nothing like you’ve heard before, nothing like your taste. Slowly, the music brightens. It’s growing on you. It’s growing on me, too. The music brightens again. 

What’s this? What’s this? The melody – it’s very familiar. I recognise it. Do you know it? You know the melody. And those chords… You say they complete it! Is that it? That is it? That’s it! That’s the melody from that girl’s performance you’ve tried emulating, tried finding the right chords for, tried recreating on your little music-making programs on your computer… You’ve soared the net to find that piece from melody alone, you’ve listened to hundreds of pieces from composers you hardly knew, and nothing! But now! But now, you’ve found it! You’ve found it! And after four years! Go! Get hold of the title! Print the sheets! I know that look in your eyes. The passion is back!