(this is mostly a personal post, not really about the anime, just related to it)
I just recently finished Nodame Cantabile and it was very entertaining. Nodame is a very unique character and I like her. I am also watching the live-action drama for this as well.
But it’s unfortunate that I failed to appreciate the classical music aura that this series offered. And I think I know why. I think it’s because when I was around 4 or 5 years old, my mother, who loves music and the arts, enrolled me and my sister for piano lessons. It was pretty structured and strict and I didn’t really have the passion for it. Maybe I could have loved the music, except that before I ever could, it already felt more like a curse to me.
Actually, I found music interesting and fun at times, and we were also enrolled in voice lessons, but it was not something I was passionate about. And the teaching style was too structured for me, being a child, to enjoy it as much as it should be enjoyed. But I endured the biweekly lessons, daily practices, occassional recitals, and the classical tapes and cds my parents would play over the stereo during certain times of the day.
Also, the way we were raised were also pretty structured, our school was pretty structured (Catholic school), so everything was pretty structured that at times I felt like being trapped in a corner.
Finally, at the age of 11, I begged my mom to make me stop taking piano lessons, and although devastated, she eventually agreed. I can’t forget that day because I really cried a lot when I begged her. I knew she wanted me to finish until Book 7 (the last book taught by that school) and maybe I was very selfish for not attempting to accomplish at least that. But I was probably still in Book 3 or 4 at that time and Book 7 seemed so far away… and so was freedom. And I knew for a fact that Book 4 contained really hard and long pieces that I’m sure it will really take a while to master. I haven’t even started imagining what Book 5 was like. Book 3 already got me dizzy with all the Minuets and Sonatas.
Piano lessons were (and probably still are) not cheap, and my mom really invested a lot. So maybe I really was a selfish child for wanting to stop. But I really felt trapped with it and as I grew up, inside me, I kind of blamed my mother for having treated me that way. It may have been my right or I may have been immature and should have disciplined myself more. And I knew for sure her intentions were good, and she believed I had talent, but I didn’t regret stopping piano at all.
Until now, I think these things should be for people who had the passion and interest for it. Maybe by saying I had talent was just an attempt to fool me.. or herself. Or maybe I really did have talent. I think talent is a relative term.
My sister continued on but eventually stopped. I think she became lonely without me and it was now easier to tell my mom she didn’t want it anymore because I had already done it. My other sister (ten years younger than me) didn’t take piano lessons during her time, but she took violin (it was also my mom’s suggestion and I think her school offered it). I don’t know if she loved it, but she took it for a while then stopped then took it up again. She recently had a recital :D What I know for sure about her talents is that she has a very good voice and a passion for singing and yeah, she took/is taking voice lessons :D and also, she plays tennis very well and she’s very sporty and alert and intelligent hehehe I’m already showing her off. Anyway, we’re proud of her. She’s the baby in our family. ^_^
Okay, that was off-topic.
Anyway, so classical music doesn’t really impress me that much, but I don’t hate it. In fact, there are some pieces that I like. There are times, though, when classical music brings out sadness in me because of my childhood days. I had always been so eager playing non-classical music. (By the way, I can play “Her Most Beautiful Smile” from Rurouni Kenshin.. ehehehe actually I haven’t memorized it so I’d need the music sheets.. which are now lost ever since we donated our piano..)
However, despite that, I really liked the anime Nodame Cantabile. When my friend told me to watch it I thought it was heavy romance (and I’m not much into romance) about classical music (and you know that doesn’t spark my interest). But I’m really really glad I watched it because the romance was not heavy and it was ultra funny and Nodame was just adorable :D Maybe if I had seen this show before, I would have had a whole lot of interest for piano.
Also, I learned a few things from the anime:
1.) Now I know exactly what a conductor was for (I was really wondering what the waving was really all about..)
2.) Classical music can be interpreted differently (uhh.. though sheets have fortissimo, allegro, etc to instruct you how to play that section).. our lessons were more technical I think, because I don’t remember being told while playing, “imagine a something something” though maybe I wasn’t listening, hehe. I thought the creative part in music was in creating it.. not so much in playing it.
3.) Wind instruments like flute, oboe.. I thought they were useless and pointless.. We had flute lessons during second hear high school and although I did fine, I really wasn’t interested because it really seemed pointless.. you just cover the holes and blow… it’s so basic and with the same melody, you can do so much better with piano or guitar.. and the sound was loud and hollow and it annoyed me.. we were using the bamboo kind of flute and another kind of flute (dunno what that was but it wasn’t bamboo). Anyway, now I realize it helps to add certain character to the music. Like, with the same chord or note, a violin sounds different than a piano would, etc. Same with flute. I guess I didn’t have enough artistic depth back then. See? I’m not the music-lover-type!
4.) I learned the term “timpanist”. But, what’s the instrument called? Timpany? I guess “drums” will do. Or something percussion-related.
Actually, I also write poems and as a consequence, songs. Piano and guitar are useful for that, but… my songs suck. NOPE, not that much talent there ^_^;
Still, I envy those people who found the love for classical music because of the anime. I wish I could feel the same.
