The Spirit of Music

Discount

"How could it be a larger work? That's all the pages I have, I didn't see anything else at the estate sale." I said, shocked.

"Well, the piece has rests in the middle of movements that don't make sense for a piece that has a single instrument. Not only that, most of the work is in bass clef too, which wouldn't make sense as a solo piece. There's too little happening here for this to be the complete work." I looked at him, and then the ground in confusion, unsure as to what I should do next. "That doesn't mean you can't learn it. The sheet music is still here, and it's complete, so there's no reason as to why you can't learn it." Mr. Stanton spoke in his old, wavering voice, and it felt quite calming at that moment. I didn't even realize how much I was worrying about this piece until now. I looked Mr. Stanton in the eye, and gave him a smile.

"I'm ready to learn this damn piece of music." He chuckled and gave me a smile before gesturing to one of the black grand pianos in the shop and walking over to it.

"Well, let's get started." This was finally the beginning of what would actually help me, the beginning of the solution. It turns out that I was playing the beginning a little wrong in the first place, and Mr. Stanton showed me just what I was doing wrong. That first night I learned the basics of the song and music itself, using a metronome, learning the notes and corresponding keys on the piano, and even what the pedals did and what some of the accents and notations were on the sheet music. I found that the way I was originally learning the music was way off, and I would have missed too much to actually properly learn the song. I walked out of the shop after an hour of learning, and I only had the first couple measures down. Driving back home under the soft glow of the streetlights and the gentle snowfall, I realized that I had a long road ahead of me.

I found the music book in front of my bedroom door in the morning, just like before.

As the days turned into weeks, and those weeks turned into months, the time just droned on as I plugged away at the work. Mr. Stanton was very kind during this whole time, and he was very supportive. Anytime I didn't understand a concept or what was being played, he would always make sure to explain it as much as he could until I did understand it. Sometimes, if I was tired of playing Capriccio Espagnol, he would teach me some other simple songs on the piano, and that helped me with my boredom and with my understanding of how music worked. I learned to really appreciate the intricate ideas, as well as the simple concepts of music, and just how difficult it is to play piano well. After many months I was able to learn most of the work, but I still needed a lot of practice playing it as one whole piece, and also keeping the proper tempo for each movement. I still wasn't sure how accurate this ghost wanted me to play this work, nor why it wanted me to play it in the first place, but I knew I wasn't going to let it down. I was going to play this the absolute best way I could. The more time that elapsed, the more I was able to learn about other songs and how to play them. I had gained an affection for the piano, and how much I loved playing it, so I decided to start saving up to buy a piano. I knew that the upright pianos would cost a lot less, but I preferred the sound of a grand piano, and when it comes to an instrument, I would prefer the one that sounds better. It would run me about ten grand, but I felt that I would use it for all that it was worth.

Fourteen months after I started practicing at Mr. Stanton's piano shop, I felt ready to play on my own. I was confident that I would be able to play it when I needed to, and that I would play it perfectly. That's when I decided to tell Mr. Stanton that I was able to save up enough from my job to buy the baby grand I had my eye on for so long. He seemed shocked that I was wanting to buy it when I told him.

"Well, surely you don't want one that expensive, there are some upright pianos that are much less to buy." He said as he motioned to the pianos that were closer to the front of the shop.

"I don't really like the sound of them compared to the grands." I said as his arm dropped to his side.

"Well, there are a few cheaper baby grands I'm sure you might find more affordable."

"No, really, I like this piano, and I want it." The smooth mahogany finish with the name of the company emblazoned on the inside of the lid and simple yet familiar details made me feel like it would be perfect in my house. Some of the keys had small imperfections in them, and I could tell that the piano was a used one, but the more I looked, the more character I saw in it. Even if I would struggle a little to find the space, I felt that it was something that I had earned.

"You really don't need to put that big of a dent into your budget just to buy the piano, I can allow you to rent it for a couple weeks for much less so you can play the song on it. You really don't need to buy the whole piano." Mr. Stanton looked at me with a sad and guilty look in his eyes. I could tell that he thought I felt like I had to buy this piano, and he felt guilty for making me feel that way. This wasn't true, though, and during my time learning this song and how to play the piano along the way, I found that I loved playing the instrument simply for the piano itself, and not the song I was learning.

"I want to buy the piano, Mr. Stanton. You've taught me how to play, and I've found that I really enjoy playing piano. I have other songs I want to learn how to play, so what better way than to buy one for my home?" Mr. Stanton slowly nodded his head as he looked around the shop, trying to see if there was anything else he could use to try and convince me otherwise.

"Are you really sure you want to buy that? It's $8000, that's a lot of money."

"I thought it was $10000?" I asked confused. Mr. Stanton gave a small smile and bobbed his head up and down.

"Well, before the 'friends and family' discount, sure. But I feel that you deserve this at a discount. After all, I feel like you've been keeping me company for a while, I definitely enjoyed it." We both smiled at each other, before I walked to the mahogany piano.

"Don't worry, I won't leave you or the shop, I just want to be able to practice on my own when it gets busy here." I saw Mr. Stanton's grin turn into a full smile. "So, should I pay with card or check?"