Note For Note: Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered

by Howard Smith

For forty years, HOWARD SMITH worked hard as a technologist and consultant, a career he loved. Approaching retirement, and facing an intractable problem at the office, he discovers the one thing that had been missing all along: a piano. Regretful of not having had the discipline to persevere with lessons as a child, the author embarks upon an urgent quest: to lead a new creative life and to achieve this in just three years. Encountering many obstacles and rescued by a blue snowman, he finally comes to understand what it means to be a musician.

Blending theory and practice, this unique memoir describes how the author navigated his transition from the digital to the analogue: from the bits and bytes of the computer industry to the world of melody, harmony and musical performance. Join our hero as he jumps onto a distinctly bumpy escalator in what becomes a relentless pursuit of his dream.

360 pages, Paperback

Published October 9, 2020

About the author

Librarian Note: There are more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[David Galvani · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man’s account of learning to write songs rather than high proficiency at piano performance. A committed adult student, he explores keyboard harmony as well as scales, eschewing rote learning of classical pieces. A lot to learn for regular piano students in terms of improving improvising skills. Conversational style will suit some, others may want some editing.

[Victor Wong · Rating 3 out of 5]

The community rating of 3 stars is about right. Majority of the book was his obsession with theory. It was only in the postlude that I found that I could relate to his journey.