Music

Hi Steph,

I read somewhere that you considered becoming a classical pianist at one
time. I’m not sure where you’d find the time nowadays to play the piano,
but do you still have any interest in playing classical music, or is
that mostly in the past?

Best wishes,
Patrick

Hi Patrick,
I studied piano from age 3 to 18…18 was when I started climbing, and piano went out the window. You know, a lot of that was rebellion, since I’d been studying music for so long and with a lot of strict practicing. When I was 3, my parents started me with the Suzuki method. I had to practice a half hour a day as a kid, and then when I was in high school, it was several hours a day between my own practice and various music groups I played or sang in. When I started climbing, I quit all of it completely. Like I said, I think a big part of that was rebellion. I can see now how valuable all that music training was, because it taught me how to focus, practice and take things apart to learn them. And I love music–there’s almost no kind I don’t like. Maybe I don’t like “easy listening”.

Several years ago I got a piano, and started playing a little bit here and there. But it is hard to find the time right now. Music is a huge part of my life, though as a listener now. So one of these days when there is suddenly more time, I’d like to start practicing and playing again. I most like Bach, Mozart and Chopin–especially now when I never play, Chopin works best for me, because there are usually less notes
Steph