As Instrument
The fact that the piano is an instrument should not astound us . . . but it should please us. Not all instruments, after all, are appreciated. The tone of the oboe can be offensive. The range of the piccolo too shrill.
But the piano is pleasing and can produce harmonies that inflict us with sadness, delight, or tremendous joys. The keyboard, that long checkerboard of white and black alternates, can only be mastered by dedication and talent.
The piano sings and, when accompanied by a singer, accompanies. There is always more to this instrument than meets the eye or the ear and each time we hear it, we may be astounded by its music, as if discovered, at the first, by some new fate or privilege of birth. And the fact that all other instruments bow to its majestic voice should give us great comfort. We may, indeed, find ourselves stretched out in the final hours listening to its center note: middle C. That won't change.
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