Music, as in the past, is still a therapy tool

There's an older, nice piano in our home today. I look at it every day and it brings back memories of many, many years ago.

The piano was moved back home after several of our grandchildren took many years of lessons and became accomplished piano players, along with their mother. Since they all have moved on, once again the piano sits in our living room.

I look at it because there was a time when I took piano lessons as a young seventh or eighth grader. It was maybe a year or two of lessons taught by Emma Rost, a gracious and well-read lady of the piano who still has roots in the Cathay-New Rockford area today.

The cost to take the lessons was 50¢ per week for a half-hour lesson. I went to the lessons, but I was not faithful in practicing during the week. I disliked practicing my lessons, especially in the winter time when I could look out our living room window and watch my friends ice skate on the city rink a half-a-block to the north.

So Mom approaches me with the words, "If you don't want to practice and play, then the lessons are over. We don't want to waste the 50¢ each week."

So, I quit and you can't imagine how many times since then I wish I could play the piano. Oh, I can play a little bit, mostly by ear, and I can chord a bit to knock out a few old German waltzes or a polka, but that's it.

How I wish I could sit down, and either by music or by ear, knock out songs that I really liked through the years and even up until today. How I wish!

How I wish I could sit down in a peanut bar like they used to have in Grand Forks and churn out tunes as requested by patrons; many of which included the entire gang of peanut and suds' lovers joining in and singing. That's just one reason, there are several more available areas where that talent could be utilized through the years and even today.

I am/was a drummer by musical trade, something I would never have given up. Through grade and high school and 15 or more years of playing in a dance band combo in club gigs throughout the eastern half of the state, music was my therapy tool. It still is today.

I learned to play the trap set in our basement while growing up (and my dad even enjoyed it, much to my pleasure) by drumming along to "The Dukes of Dixieland" blaring out of my sister's phonograph.

Drums are for rhythm, but my experience with friends, Glenn, Lloyd and Marv in our little band, brought me to more than ever grasp the therapy of music. Glenn, being a school music teacher, taught us all the importance of music . . . even when just playing a gig in a club where hundreds of guys and gals would swing away on the dance floor each weekend.

He taught us music, even when we drove to a job and drove home. It was solid music!

During the years past, I have learned that music has some physical and psychological benefits as well as health-related to the brain. The effects of music are far reaching.

And, music is good for the dancers, too. A heart workout as well as a physical workout. Also, good for children and their early learning.

Music is also good when you're eating, setting the speed of how fast or slow you put away the meal in front of you.

It's just good therapy for everything . . . a lot of things whether you realize it or now . . . it's just soothing to the soul.

So while I've expounded on the piano and drums, there is one more important instrument I wish I could play, the guitar. So much can be done with that instrument and late friend Lloyd of our combo, was also a perfectionist on his guitar, and a teacher as well when it came to the topic of music and its therapy.

Now I just listen, pick out the chords and other parts of music produced by a guitar and remember back when Lloyd taught us about an E major fifth with an augmented seventh.

So, in moving recently, we have that nice piano returned in our living room. When the boys moved it in, they caused it to go out of tune a bit (even I noticed it was out of tune by listening to a few chords I rolled out one night).

Now I'll call John Ringerud, the local tuner, following his dad Olaf, to come to the house and put 'er back in shape.

I think I can still crank out a few of those old songs I once could play . . . maybe even a few bars of a good German waltz or a polka.

Whatever . . . at least it will be a great dose of therapy needed now more than ever.

For less than 50¢ a lesson.

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Just a few one or two liners I thought about this week:

1. My teams didn't win in the NFL playoffs last week, so I don't know if I'll watch the Super Bowl or not. That's usually the game I stay away from.

2. With the change of ownership here, I'm cleaning out some of my stuff. Interesting how many things I remember filing away, but not remembering where I filed them!

3. Who would think rain? It rained last Monday and Tuesday saw roads and streets all iced up. Driving was not recommended; schools were closed in the region and some business were closed on Tuesday.

4. Looked at your MDU bill recently?

5. Thinking lottery: If you were to stack up a million $1 bills, they would weight about one ton.

6. Anyone interested in back copies of Don Hanson's "Mr. Hoopster" and "Miss Hoopster" publications along with annual football and wrestling books for the past 25 years or more years? We have many of them at out office here. Come and get them, FREE!

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Parting Shot: "Champions keep playing until they get it right." - Billie Jean King