練琴片段─夢中的婚禮

Dream Wedding

The title of this song is "A Dream Wedding" (in French: Mariage d'amour), and it was composed by the French melodic composer Paul de Senneville in 1979. The first version I ever heard was played by the pianist Richard Clayderman, and it sounded absolutely enchanting. This song reminds me of the poetry of ancient poets, so when I was a kid, I pestered my mom to teach me how to play it.

Amir Doreh on Unsplash

My mom was one tough piano teacher. She started me on piano lessons when I was just five. She had this unique way of making me practice – she'd place a long pencil (about 30 centimeters long) on my hands. If the pencil fell, it meant trouble for me. My mom would just let out a thoughtful "Hmm~," and I knew it was time to start all over again.

I also vividly remember the ache of watching other kids enjoy their holiday outings while I was stuck at home, diligently practicing the piano. The pressure that came with piano playing was immense, to the point where it invaded my dreams with fears of not winning competitions and the haunting disappointment in my mom's eyes. My self-imposed pressure pushed me to the edge and strained my relationship with my mom.

I persevered until I reached the sixth grade, but that's when things took a rebellious turn. My mom wanted me to participate in a piano competition, and I lost control of my emotions, releasing a loud, defiant scream.

"No way! I'm never playing the piano again!" I cried.

And so, I bid adieu to the piano during my sixth-grade years.

However, there were plenty of happy moments too. I can still recall the times when, back in Kaohsiung, there was a department store called "Chien-Mei." My mom used to take me to the lobby for some piano performances. I'd perch on that long piano bench, and my elementary school-short fingers played with all the zeal in the world. The audience gathered around, watching and clapping, and it gave my small and somewhat insignificant sense of pride a real boost.

For quite a long time, I didn't play the piano. It wasn't until I got to university that I rediscovered my love for it, thanks to my best friend who had a passion for playing the piano.

This is a snapshot of my practice routine now. Since I'm currently renting a place, it's much more convenient to carry around an electronic keyboard. After all, moving a piano is quite a hassle, and I can only play it when I visit my hometown.

P.S. I'm still getting used to playing on this electronic keyboard; the keys feel much lighter than what I'm used to. I prefer the weight of traditional piano keys!

《夢中的婚禮》

這首曲子叫做《夢中的婚禮》（法語：Mariage d'amour）為法國旋律作曲家保羅·德·塞內維爾在1979年所創作。我第一次聽到的版本好像是由鋼琴家理察·克萊德曼所彈奏，真的很好聽，讓我聯想到白居易《琵琶行》的詩句「大珠小珠落玉盤」，所以我就吵著要我媽教我。

我媽咪是一位超級嚴格的鋼琴老師，她從我五歲的時候要求我練琴。她有一種獨特練習的方式，她會在我兩隻手上放一支很長的鉛筆(大概30公分)，如果鉛筆掉下來，我就完蛋了。我媽就會發出「恩~」的聲音，我就知道要重新練了。

我也還記得那種孤獨感：別的小朋友假日可以出去玩，我卻得在家裡面練琴。還有就是當時鋼琴帶給我的壓力真的太大了！我作夢都夢到我比賽沒有得名，夢到我媽失望的眼神。我自己給自己的壓力逼瘋了我自己──也傷害了我媽。所以我練琴練到小六，就爆發了！我媽那時候要我去參加鋼琴比賽，我整個情緒失控，大尖叫！

「不要！我再也不練鋼琴了！」爆哭中

所以我就練到小六，停止了。

當然，那個時候也有許多快樂的時刻。我還記得以前在高雄有一家名為尖美的百貨公司，我媽媽帶我到那邊的大廳表演。我坐在那長長的鋼琴凳上，小學生短短的手指彈得氣勢十足。旁邊一堆觀眾圍觀並鼓掌，滿足了我那時尚微不足道的虛榮心。

我很長一段時間沒有練琴了。一直到我大學時期，我的閨密喜歡彈鋼琴，我才重新撿起來練。這是我平常練習的片段，因為現在 在外面租屋，電子琴比較方便攜帶，畢竟要搬家來搬家去。鋼琴得回老家時才能彈了

P.S.我還是不太習慣用這台電子琴彈，琴鍵太輕了。我比較習慣鋼琴 琴鍵的重量>口<