Less Is More

Less Is More by Relient K

It’s a simple but beautiful song. I performed this song as Special Music at Pittsford Baptist Church today by playing a piano and singing at the same time. My friends and I were supposed to perform the Christmas song today but one was at her family’s church to perform with her band and the other one was busy with a group project. I felt bad because the congregation was expecting us so I wanted to make it up by doing solo. It went well according to them and my friends were so surprised that I could play piano and asked why I kept that as a secret.

Man, I was so nervous the whole time that I messed up the second part of the song. I didn’t have much practice because I decided to do this song on Thursday. Originally, I wanted to play guitar and sing Brighten My Heart by Sixpence None The Richer because I thought it was a beautifully simple song. But I couldn’t sing the high notes and I couldn’t get the rhythm with a guitar after two weeks. I complained about it to my friend and then she suggested Less Is More.

I never heard it before but I liked it. It was simple and right within my vocal range. Then I looked for the music sheet but it wasn’t available anywhere. I only got the good chords without the lyrics along with bad chords with lyrics. Though I was rustic on piano but since Relient K used it as a primary instrument, I thought I should use it instead of my guitar. For two whole nights, I had to figure out the melody and where the chords were played by listening intensely and and writing notes on my music notebook. I made so many changes that papers got wearing thin.

On my first night, I got the chords and the lyrics on their positions and the rhythm of the first half of the song. I added harmony to it but it sounded weird and it affected the melody when I tried to sing. Then last night, I deciphered the melody and the second half of the song! And then, I tried to add flourish like I heard it but it didn’t work out so well. Relient K said less is more so I decided to keep it simple. Although I got them all, I kept making changes at the last minutes. That’s what musicians do, right? Rewrite, rewrite, and rewrite.

Why am I writing about this? Because I never done it like this in a very long time: decoding the entire song and performing in front of people. So it is a very rare occasion. The last time I performed was a piano recital when I was nine years old at the church for a Christmas special. It was memorably funny because my foot couldn’t reach the pedal so the director had to push the pedal “discreetly” under the seat while I played. I translated the other two songs by listening and playing around that age. First song was Amazing Grace by playing the only black keys and the second song was Barney’s I Love You song (and yes, I did watch Barney and Friends). I am kind of proud of what I just recently did but I wouldn’t not credit God for this. After all, He gave me this skill.

I had formal lessons. Along with piano lessons, I studied music theory since I was six. I never wanted to learn but my mom forced me. I literally went kicking and screaming on the way to the piano school. It was a traumatic day when she just gave up and left me on the stairs alone. I got scared and cried on the way home (thank God, my home was just around the corner). She won so I had to take lessons in fear of being abandoned again. I continued until I entered seventh grade when I finally stood my ground. I hated it the whole time even though I loved the music.

So while I was thinking about this, God knew that I would use it in the future especially for this day. It came in very handy when I was in the church choir (for a short period of time) and learned how to play guitar which I will also perform with next week. I gotta say, “Thanks, mom, for forcing me so I can hate piano with passion and then forget how to play it after years of dormant but it will come in handy in the future when I pick up the music again.” If I first wanted to learn it before my mom forced me, then I might love it and be a Mozart by now.

It is not that I’m proud because I can play piano. It is how I can transcribe the composition by listening. God helped out a lot on this because I was about to give up halfway. I didn’t touch it for two whole day after the first night until God gave me the motivation last night. That is when I finally translated the melody. It is nifty how God laid everything out.