October 2021 Member Spotlight - Gwen Walden

[Katie Rushing]

Hi PWJ Members! 

This month's spotlight goes to..........

Gwen Walden!    @Gwendolyn W

Please join me in congratulating her!

 

Where are you from?
I am from Canada. I was born in the province of Quebec and grew up in the Eastern Townships; however, for the last 24 years, I have made the Laurentians my new home, which is about 100 miles North of Montreal. I live by a peaceful lake, surrounded by small mountains. It is my quiet place. I feel very fortunate about where I am at right now. 
 

When did you start playing piano?
I started playing at the age of 10 y.o with the traditional classical method of reading and interpreting pieces. I was taught by the nuns in my native town of Sherbrooke. We did not have a piano at home and my lessons were only once a week, so I had a rather slow beginning and unfortunately I never got a piano until I was in my late 20s. 
 

What got you interested in learning music?
Undeniably, it was my father that lit the first spark and kept the fire burning all through his life. It all started as I recall, when at the young age of 4 or 5, my father and three of his brothers, used to go to the Legion on the week-ends, play darts, have a few drinks and then came back to our home, around midnight, woke me up, yes at midnight, and started “rehearsing” barbershop singing. I think they sang on request at the Legion from what I understood of their talks and plans. So they were practicing for the next time they went to the Legion.

Dad would say to me, sit there on the couch, and “just listen” ! Ohhh the gorgeous sounds they made. All of my father’s family were very gifted musicians and these four brothers had such a good ear and lovely voices. So I saw them chose their part, Russell would sing tenor, and he was a true  tenor with an amazing falsetto, Austin would sing bass and he was good also, dad would sing barytone and he had a lovely voice able to sing low and high and uncle Johnny, whom we called “Pearly” sang the melody…and they did these tags, where one of them sang and held ONE note for ever, while the other three moved together in harmony. What a treat…And when they were done with one piece, they would look at me with an inquisitive look and just stare at me and then my father would say: Well did you like it? I had to think twice the first time he asked me that, I had never been a judge before …lool, but by gosh, it took me about four seconds and a half to realize that I had just heard a gorgeous performance of 4 beautiful male voices. It was immediately pleasing to my untrained ear, and it was my first conscious encounter with harmony. When I nodded YES, they all sincerely cheered and said, she likes it, she likes it !!! loool. So they would do another one. And then the next morning around 5:30 am dad would wake me up to go fishing ! lool but that’s another story. 

Then when we got a radio, dad put it on a high shelf in the kitchen, and every noon hour when he came home for lunch, he put on the “Knock…knock, who’s there? It’s the Happy Gang” show. He would not talk much, just eat, listen and enjoy the music, and he would occasionally mention the names of the artists, and I started having favorites. They were Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, Peggy Lee, Connie Francis and the Evans Quartet. 
On Sunday mornings, if I happen to miss mass service after he had attempted to wake me up with, “Gwen, it’s 8 o’clock, then Gwen it’s 9 o’clock, get up, then it’s 10 o’clock…then, well I had missed all the mass services for that day, so he would say, come here, we would go in the living room, he would take his guitar out, and would say, just be quiet and listen, and he would sing and play hymns for about 15 minutes,  and two of  his favourite prayers were Amazing Grace and  The Lord’s Prayer. Then he would say, OK, I think the Lord will be just as happy with this, you can go and play now. I could go on for ever about my father, but I did say that I’ll try to keep it brief…
 

What is your favorite style of piano music?
 I pretty much love all styles of piano music, from Blues, R&B, Soul, Funk, Country, Classical, Pop, but if I absolutely have to choose one, it would have to be anything Jazz; could be fusion jazz, classic jazz, Latin jazz, I love them all, not that I can play any of these styles with any proficiency, but I love listening to them. 
 

Do you have any favorite pieces to play?
My favourite pieces are usually the ones I am working on at the  moment although for years I did play Misty as if it was the only piece I knew. But basically all through the years I have enjoyed learning and repeatedly playing classical pieces like Bach’s Largo, then DeBussy’s  Rêverie, Chopin’s valse OP 64, No.2, then Erroll Garner’s Misty, then lately,  Chick Corea’s arrangement of Manha de Carnaval, and Carlos Campo’s arrangement of Besame Mucho. I did play these over and over and I enjoyed them very much. But the problem is that, if I don’t keep on playing them, I forget them while I am learning something new. So it’s an never ending process of relearning them. 
 

What has most helped you most in improving as a pianist?
Oh dear, well I guess, every phase of my learning had something important that has helped me. And every phase ties into the next one. The classical method taught me how to read and interpret and to have a solid rhythm knowledge. Then I went through a phase where I played mostly along with background vinyls, or cassettes, then CDs…Having had a basic knowledge of scales from my classical training, it is in this phase that I started to play a little bit by ear at least the melody line of jazz classics, noticing tonality patterns. I would do alright with my Right Hand. The left hand was always out for lunch it seems. Lool !  Then came PWJ, who is doing the work that should have been done from the start, which is understanding the structure of music and also how to use that knowledge to be creative. That is a biggy for me, as creativity was definitely an under- developed element in my tool box as a musician. I am very grateful and happy for these creative snippets that I have been able to come up with in the last year thanks to pianowithjonny’s courses. They are but snippets, but it is something that I could not even do before PWJ. So even though I would like more creativity, I have to look where I am coming from and to see the progress I have made this far in my journey.
 

Do you have any tips for other PWJ members?
1) Trust this method and do the work. Jonny’s methodology is probably one of the best on line or even irl. So do the foundation courses at all cost 2) Set yourself up for success by working on material that is at your level or just slightly above your level and 3) make short term goals that you know you can attain. These successes will help you keep the motivation. 4) Ensure that you insert in your learning process some fun times, either by goofing off with some friends doing music together, or just fooling around by yourself at the piano, let go, let loose and let it out !!! lool. 5) Choose pieces that you like. 6) Don’t forget to learn your foundation in different keys, don’t get stuck only to the key of C 7) Repeat, repeat, repeat, and play it until, not only you can play it right once or twice, but until you cannot play it wrong ! 8) when you think you are not progressing anymore,  determine what it is that is holding you back, and plan a strategy with short term goals to get over that hump 9) post on pwj facebook and get the encouragement and a different perspective of how others see your playing. 10) Be patient, learning can be a long process, be in it for the long run, even if it is a snail pace. One step at a time will get you somewhere lol. 
 

What is your favorite part of the PWJ Membership?
Wow!  So much great teaching and information for such little money would be one my favourite parts. And as I mentioned, the methodology used by Jonny and now along with additional teachers on this platform is outstanding, has been thought out carefully and is readily available at all times. I can go at my own pace, it is progressive, and it is for all levels of students.  I love the Facebook page also, it gives me free mini concerts from some super talented musicians, it is inspiring, to watch someone else’s progress, it shows that this works IF I put in the effort. There is a plethora of activities with workshops and monthly challenges and the diversity of styles we can learn here is amazing. No reason to ever be bored. But we can get lost…It’s a huge platform, better be disciplined not to get lost. I love that the courses use all of our senses, it’s the best way to learn, we are able to print the course, so we can see it written, and we hear it with the learning tracks, and we have Jonny showing us how it can sound like..and if you want to sing to it you are encouraged to do that, then all your senses are pitching in, your eyes, your ears, your voice, your hands. It puts all the chances on your side to be able to do this. There is so much more, but these are a few of my favourite things here. 
 

What are your future music goals?
I have mostly short-term goals as of now, which is to memorize a small amount of measures per day or per two days to a piece, till I have completed it, then memorize another piece in the same fashion in small bites, while keeping the previous piece fresh to my memory and so on until I have maybe 5 memorized pieces. I would like to say, that I will have 10 pieces memorized by next year, but I prefer to set myself up for success in my goals.  And I want to do more creative snippets when I am learning courses or Quick Tips. I want to also basically stick to Blues for several months instead of spreading myself thin with all kinds of other lovely styles that are so tempting. I also want to acquire more velocity or at least skills in doing nice runs, and riffs, and licks, all those embellishments, I need to work on that. So much to do….

 

Do you have any words you try to live by or a favorite quote?
I do try to live by the Golden Rule, which is of treating others the way I would want to be treated.  Another one would be: If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with! I tend to live like that.  I believe Stephen Stills said it best in his song titled Love the one you’re with.
 

[Glenn M]

😀

[Brendan D]

Woot! Woot! Well deserved @Gwendolyn W!

[Scott M]

Touche!! @Gwendolyn W.  Read your interview and it resonated well with me.  Love your story, your practical approach, advice and most importantly, your passion to learn.  Well deserved 👏👏

[Sue Muller]

Congrats to you Gwen, and thanks to Katie for the interview.  I loved your dad stories, Gwen!  Barbershop!?  Now there's some amazing ear training in action!  Thanks, too, for you thoughts on the best parts of PWJ platform.  Lots of good advice there.  Cheers!

 

[Martyn R]

Congratulations Gwen, so well deserved, I am so pleased that you've been chosen! About time too 😁🎹👍🤘

[Susana R]

Wow Gwen, you would make a fantastic  writer. I am amazed  at your rigid discipline, surely acquired as a child. The tips are very helpful, you didn't forget any, huh? I share the choice of quote: " treat others as you would like to be treated". I really loved reading your personal story. You live now in a place that I consider one of the paradises of the world. Brilliant! You deserve all the love of the group for your warmth as a person and quality as a pianist. I still remember the fantastic rendition of "Bésame Mucho",and the blues " Bring Me Somebody To Love", that I loved. I'm happy you've been selected for this distinction. Congratulations Gween!!!!

 

[Doug M]

Congratulations Gwen,  some real pearls of wisdom there.

[Sharon Kae D]

Thank  you, Katie and Gwen, for an amazing interview.  Your stories , Gwen, about growing up with such a wonderful father brought tears to my eyes.  How fortunate you were to have such a sparkling and encouraging dad in your life.  Thank you for sharing what you have learned and some of the avenues through PWJ that have brought you success in your piano journey.  Congratulations on all your accomplishments!

[Gwendolyn W]

Wow, thank you so much to all who read on "member of the month", about my music journey, and who commented in such a warm manner. Love you all. Hope you are staying healthy and enjoying your learning your life long process. Keep up the amazing work you are doing, I love all your mini concerts and I love the kindness and positive attitude you all so generously share with all of us.

[Ido B]

Well deserved recognition, Gwen!!!  I always enjoy your playing and it was so nice to learn a little more about you. 

[Eiress L]

Congratulations Gwen!

I enjoyed reading your  bio and  it was so nice to learn more about your journey.  You play piano well and I always enjoy listening to your posts!

 

 

[Elisa]

Hi Gwen -- thanks so much for taking the time to write about your piano journey. I loved hearing about your dad! It's exciting that you're working on blues these days. Will hope to see some posts from you soon on Facebook!! --Elisa (NanaNPoppy)