February 10, 2023 - My wife, Clara, has been playing the piano and organ for many years. She is quite good at it as she has been invited to play music for numerous weddings and funerals over the years. However, there is a side to playing the keyboard that is quite dangerous. One would think that sitting at a piano and playing would be about the safest thing a person could do. This is not the case with Clara, as you will soon detect.
A number of years ago she was asked to play for a funeral. While entering the funeral home she turned her foot while in the doorway and broke a small bone. Like the trooper she is, she played the piano for the funeral without missing a note. Then, immediately after, she was driven to the hospital for treatment.
She was asked to play the piano for a wedding at a local church. The piano was on a stage about twelve inches off the floor. She played the wedding music nicely and when finished forgot the twelve inch drop. She fell off the stage into a front pew and injured her shoulder. Although in pain, she played the piano at the reception without complaint. Her shoulder required surgery a year later.
Once while playing the organ at her church, a friend came up behind her and attempted a bear hug. The friend lost her balance and fell, yanking Clara off the stool on to the carpeted floor. This time her back was injured causing her to miss two days work.
Several years ago at one of her piano recitals, she rushed out to the foyer to check something just before the recital was slated to begin. However, she stumbled and fell forward on her right wrist breaking it. She would not agree to go to the emergency room until after the recital was over. Someone gave her their belt which she made into a sling for her arm. Again, being a trooper, she completed the recital in great pain and then went to the hospital.
Once while playing the piano for a formal wedding in a small country church, a small boy, around three years old, wandered up to the piano and started banging on the keys. She was having difficulty playing and dealing with the little boy at the same time. Since none of his elders seemed to want to remove him from the scene, I grabbed the tot’s hand and led him back into the audience. Apparently some adult got the message and took charge of him.
At a similar wedding in a small country church, Clara was playing wedding songs just before the ceremony was scheduled to begin. The couple had asked a guitar player to sing a couple of songs during the wedding. As he sat on a stool on the stage, he began turning his guitar and warming up his voice. His noises were drowning out the sweet notes of the piano, and she was getting frustrated. I wanted to yell out to the guy to “shut up and be quiet while the music is playing,” however I felt that would not be appropriate at a wedding. We just grinned and carried on.
So, the next time you see a person playing the piano at a function, just feel sorry for them as you never know what hardship and injuries they may have sustained in the past from the activity.
