Hey guys 馃憢
Today I will like to bring into your awareness how my journey into the world of music began, with major emphasis on my keyboard learning process.
What prompted me to start learning the keyboard 馃幑?
It was one fateful Sunday morning in 2015, after we all arrived church for a Sunday service with the choir fully really for a powerful service that we notice that our keyboardist was not available. The most painful part of it is that we were having just a single keyboardist at that moment. Left with no option due to the absence of our keyboardist we had to sing on acapella.
The disappointment that day was a very bittered one to the entire choir crew. It was from that day I made the decision to learn how to play the keyboard. And luckily enough, the choir arrange with a tutor that will take us on the keyboard lesson which was schedule for every Tuesday. The first Tuesday was not funny for me. I remembered I went to the church that day(for the lesson) with a song in my mind to play the moment I set my hand on the keyboard.
But it was went I was asked to place my hand on the keyboard to begin my fingering exercise that I concluded that this keyboard thing is not for me. And guess what! After that day I never returned for that keyboard lesson again, not until 2017. In 2015 I indeed wanted to learn how to play the keyboard but my mind wasn't ready for the challenges that I will encounter in the process.
It was in January 2017 that I made up my mind that will learn how to play the keyboard no matter the difficulties I will encounter in the process. As at that time when I made up my mind to commence my learning I had no one to put me through. It was my musical director who decided to give me one of his piano lesson book to serve as my guide. And so I started by learning the solfa notation, and I began with Cmajor solfa notation. Although key C seems to be easy for me to play the solfa notation I still decided to learn the solfa notation in all the other keys. I can tell for sure that it wasn't an easy experience at that moment. Most especially when I had to Start mixing the white notes and the black notes_ playing them simultaneously.
From then I started learning how to form chords and using these chords to form some simple progressions. And so I started learning how to play some simple christian songs, most especially songs whose progression doesn't have more than four chords combination. And at this time although I had learned how to play the major scales of each key I can only play those simple songs on key C cause I found it more comfortable to play at that moment. It was almost one year later that I started playing songs on key Gmajor. At this moment I was comfortable with playing just two keys ( C and G) not until I saw a guy in 2019 who can comfortably play all keys without using the transpose button. So I picked up a challenge to learn all the other keys that I am not yet familiar with (and I am still on that).
My first day playing the keyboard in the church wasn't a good day for me. It was the first time I was sitting on the keyboard in front of many people. I was literally shivering and that made me to make alot of mistakes that day. But I never gave up. I encouraged myself and continued my learning process to a point where I became the main keyboardist in my church. At that point it was as if i have arrived home not until I started having dreams of me playing the keyboard for great music ministers and preachers in Nigeria.
At that time I knew that my skill level on the keyboard can never open door for me to be even close to those I had dreams of playing for them. By that I had to begin another rigorous season of learning. I remember spending many sleepless nights in the church just to master my craft. At that moment it was as if the only thing that make sense to me was the keyboard. I couldn't spend a day without rehearsing. It was as if I was addicted to the keyboard. But surely, every great sacrifice has a great reward.
Few years later, although I can't say I am even near perfection, but I have seen my skill blessed many souls. I have seen my skill opening doors that nothing else could have open. I have seen myself standing before men which only my skill(which has the breathe of God) has made it possible.
In this few years I have seen myself playing for some of these people I have dreamt of playing for them. Indeed, every great sacrifice has a great reward.
It was and is still a difficult journey, with new challenges every day. But I can tell you with fact that this was a journey worth embarking on.