I have been working on something for awhile and I have set a goal:

I'm going to play the piano at an
open mic or jam session this year.

And I don't mean just sitting in for one song. I plan to perform a set of 4 songs and I also want to play with others (if I'm invited!) After several years of watching my musician friends have fun, it's time to get off the sidelines and join them. Now, just so you know I'm not dreaming, I'm not starting from scratch! I took piano lessons for a few years as a kid, then started chord theory on my own, and for almost two years, I have been taking lessons specifically to play without music. I can read music, but this is all about playing by ear and jamming with others.

It's a big deal.

You have to understand that, as a kid, when I took piano lessons, you had little choice. They pretty much put everyone through the Royal Conservatory program, and many students went through the entire program, becoming pretty accomplished pianists, and still cannot play without music. This is the norm among my friends, believe it or not. I even heard of teachers, back then, who discouraged students from playing by ear. My, times have changed! And speaking of that, electronic keyboards? Ha! They hadn't been invented yet. I learned to play on my grandparents' old acoustic piano. (By the way, I inherited that piano and it's still my favorite.)

_{My piano recital on a baby grand piano. That's my piano teacher singing.}
So, at this point, I know a whole bunch of chords and mostly what to do with them. Last year's highlights were playing one song at a jam and playing at my first piano recital. You might be impressed to hear I played an authentic Bossa Nova accompaniment to 'The Girl From Ipanema.' Latin Jazz is tough stuff. I played while my piano teacher sang -- he's pretty good -- but I worked really, really hard to play that song. I like the Latin rhythms but for a jam, I'll play pop, rock, or country and that should be much easier. In case you're unfamiliar with what I mean, it's that songs with fewer chords are easier to play. 'The Girl From Ipanema' had 15 big chords! And for singing, it's also easier when you're not playing a complicated rhythm.

So my biggest concern is my friends who saw the recital video now think I play well, and ever since I bought my digital piano, they have been bugging me to bring it out. But playing one song doesn't mean I can play every song! I mean, it's great they're so supportive, but I don't exactly want to torture them... So I kept practising ...

... and stalling! Even though I bought my Korg SP280 last spring, I waited until January this year to buy a piano bag. It's a Fusion, the lightest one I could find with wheels.

Now for the next problem...

Recently, a friend helped me with a test run. I took the piano apart and put it into the bag; he put it into his car; we drove to his house and I set it up; I put it back into the bag; he got it back from his house to his car to my house. But here's the worry... I still don't know if I, a petite 5'4" woman, can get a 46 lb piano and bag out of my house, over the snow, and into my car by myself.

There's a beginner's jam that I've been wanting to try. However, my test run indicated that I might need a piano stand that's quicker to setup. That's where I am now. Do I stay or do I go? Do I wait until spring? Can I move the piano without a sherpa? Tune in again to see which of us wins the struggle; the piano or me!

One last thing, if you play the piano or keyboard, I would be grateful for any tips!

_{Image sources: Photos 1 and 5 are from pixabay, photos 2,3 and 4 are mine.}