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Showing posts from February 26, 2010

Magical Moment 28, "What Changed its' Worth?"

I don’t consider myself a perfectionist. My house is not meticulously clean or organized. I don’t match my socks before I put them in the drawer. There are dirty dishes in my sink from last night when I made cookies (and those definitely didn’t turn out perfect, ew). But there are certain things, whether it’s writing or recording a song, or a performance in any setting, when I turn into a complete rain man, obsessing continuously until I’m finished. It’s more than just focus and discipline, which would be normal and healthy. It’s crazy, fanatical, consuming fixation, followed by an overly harsh and judgmental review of myself. I am my biggest critic. I am prone to automatically assuming that performance was awful, that song sounds horrible, or I acted like a complete idiot and they’ll never call me to play for their party again. If I don’t feel like something was a complete success, then I categorize it as a total failure. I don’t know why I do this. My husband bears the brunt of my

Magical Moment 27, "Ode to the Piano Teachers"

I began to reflect on all the people in my past whose influence has affected my life to this day. There are probably millions, some I have completely forgotten and some I never knew existed. Some that my pride has wrongly told me had no affect on me whatsoever and some who I sing the highest praises and will remember for a long time. I think about my piano teachers actually quite often, because they were all more than just teachers to me. They were friends and role models. And I’m so grateful at this point in my life that all 3 of them have inspired me in some way. I started piano lessons with Mrs. Anderson at the age of 6 (I think). Mrs. Anderson had the talent and abilities of a concert pianist. Her sight-reading skills and classically trained fingers could have graced world-wide stages reserved for only the finest talent and she would have been among the best. Of that, I’m positive. Her call in life, however, was to be the devoted wife of a humble pastor and mother of their childr

Magical Moment 26, "Mary's Lullaby"

This is a song I wrote for my mother, Mary, who used to rock my sisters and I to sleep when we were little girls. The songs I remember hearing most are; Mary Had a Little Lamb (all 3 verses) and Amazing Grace. To hear the recording of this song, please go to: http://www.myspace.com/maryelizabethgrimes Click on Mary's Lullaby in the right hand box and press play. You can also view video of a performance, scroll down. I hope you enjoy it. Mary's Lullaby words and music by Elizabeth Grimes Copyright 2008 The stars in her eyes twinkle like the ones outside Now she’s fast asleep. And the creak in the floor from that old rocking chair Plays in time as her mother sings. Sleep tight. Sleep tight. And close your eyes. Mary rocks her little lamb to sleep. Oh Mary rocks her little lamb to sleep. All through the night, she’s not in her bed For her mother still rock-a-byes. When she forgets the words to the rhyme she hums And sways to the lullaby. Sleep tight. Sleep tight. A

Magical Moment 25, "A Dance for Every Ballerina"

Every little girl dreams of being a ballerina one day. Ballerinas are beautiful, graceful, and they get to twirl in pretty, flowing skirts. For some girls, it becomes their way of life and they go on to make a career out of dancing. For most girls though, it remains a childhood endeavor, remembered fondly and bringing a sense of pride and accomplishment that carries through to other aspects of their lives. I played piano for a ballet recital in a large church basement with a linoleum floor for a stage and hundreds of parents and friends in metal folding chairs for the audience. The recital consisted of 7 different classes varying in age and skill. Some groups danced to piano music while others danced to a recording and I had not yet seen all the performances when the recital began on that Sunday afternoon. They went through, class after class, dancing in graceful, fluid unison. Each girl displayed a perfect bun in her hair, with great care taken to ensure all stray strands were both

Magical Moment 24, "A Hero"

I played the piano for a children’s choir in Harlem. There were hundreds of kids ranging from kindergarten to 8 th grade and although they were energetic and excited for the performance that night, they were a bit under rehearsed. The only person that seemed to bother, however, was the very frazzled choir director. We scrambled through a very last minute run through of the songs and then the children were dispersed for hair and wardrobe checks. As the choir gathered back to their seats in the 2 reserved front rows, I kept glancing at the back door. My husband was to meet me right after drill that evening (he is in the Army Reserves). Knowing how traffic could be and that he drove his own car all the way through the city rather than using public transportation, I was afraid he might miss the program. In a matter of minutes though, there he was. Walking towards me smiling. I must be immune to camouflage now. Because while it scarcely registered in my brain that he was still in unifo

Magical Moment 23, "A Childlike Moment"

I woke up to nearly 2 feet of fresh, white snow on the ground and more still falling. It was still early and the snow plows, shovelers, and snow blowers still hadn’t bothered with our small side street, giving priority to main roads and parking lots. I bundled myself up with boots, coat, and hood to take my puppy, Joy, outside for her morning walk. I soon learned that I couldn’t walk far though. With the snow nearly up to my knees and not wanting to soak myself at 7 in the morning, I let Joy off her leash and watched as she enjoyed the deep snow. She went nuts. Desperately wanting to run through the yard as if it were normal grass, she pushed and jumped with all her might but barely covered any ground at all. She buried her head under the snow and when she popped back out, she curiously stared at me with her big black eyes and ears straight up, face completely covered in snow. Soon she learned how to maneuver. She looked like a fish in a sea of snow, hopping in and out of the water a

Magical Moment 22, "A Good Night"

I felt a little out of my element as I traveled through yet another snowstorm to a gig in the city. I responded to the ad about a week ago with a new and fresh perspective, keeping in mind my epiphany moment from a week or so ago (magic moment 16). I responded with a positive attitude as if I were perfectly suited for the job and I felt confident that I could perform well. Performing was not why I was feeling out of my element however, just being out of my element was! I was to perform for a cocktail party in a Park Avenue penthouse. Now, the fanciest thing I’ve ever been to was my own wedding. And we ate at a place called Lee’s Chicken afterwards (where I used to play the piano in college). Just to give you an idea of the level of my naiveness, I had to google cocktail party and then google cocktail dress. After careful research of how I should dress and act, and carefully selecting a set list of all the staples for a New York City crowd (Billy Joel, Elton John, and Broadway), I go