The Energetic Piano, Week #2
No conversation about an energetic piano would be complete without mentioning the epitome of flamboyancy, Liberace. Quite the showman, Liberace played the piano with gusto, relishing in audience participation and feedback. He wasn’t too shabby with the piano skills, either. Today, your job is to express emotions about Liberace’s song, Boogie Woogie.
Creative Idea Gal’s Thoughts
Liberace’s popularity was not in my generation, so I only knew of him after he passed away. Even when I learned of Liberace, I saw a lot of the gimmicks he did and was surprised. I remember seeing him fly around the stage at some point during a performance. He was wearing a type of harness, like wings, or maybe something out of a fantasy movie. It was bizarre, to say the least, and left an impression on my mind that this guy was weird in a dumb sort of way.
From that moment forward, I started associating Liberace with weirdness and flamboyant behavior because that is all I saw. Only now that I’ve been doing research for today’s prompt did I get to see and focus on Liberace’s true talent. Despite the negative reviews of Liberace’s technical piano-playing skills, it is undeniable that this man had great energy.
Creative Idea Gal’s Emotion
My emotion for today’s song is “electrifying.” I love everything about the video performance of Boogie Woogie. I love the rapid key movements, the smile on Liberace’s face, his fancy costume, and the give-and-take with the audience. The combination of everything sums up to electrifying. It is as if I’m pumped with electric fever after witnessing his music come alive. No one can quite give the piano its energetic feet the way Liberace does.
Tips on How to Evoke Emotion in Nonfiction Writing
- Tip #5 – Incorporate the element of surprise
One of the most interesting things that Liberace did while playing the piano is shift musical styles within a song. Not surprisingly, Liberace was criticized for disrespecting the greats and failing to abide by the intent of the composers of classical music. In general, people seem to have a tunnel-vision view of how music should be played. Anything that veers off the norm is written off as fluff. As a diehard creative and writer, I take the opposite view. I think Liberace’s clever musical “intertwinings” are evidence of a brilliant mind.
Writing affords us all ample opportunities to veer off-track and add elements of surprise and intrigue that will make our nonfiction writing more palatable. Try it. What do you have to lose?
Helpful Resources
“I’m a non-fiction writer. Whether I am writing for young children, teenagers or adults, all of my books contain emotion…Writing about emotion takes effort and my manuscripts would go faster if I left out emotion. But then, my writing wouldn’t be MY writing.”– Harriet Hodgson for EzineArticles
“In choosing a nonfiction topic, be sure it’s something that grabs your attention as well as a subject you think will appeal to readers. Nonfiction works can teach, delight, connect with, and entertain readers, but exciting nonfiction needs the author’s personal and passionate commitment.” – Wendy Burt-Thomas, for NetPlaces
Writing Prompt 069
Prompt: Express emotions about Liberace’s song, Boogie Woogie.
- Step 1: Listen to the song first. Then, watch the video performance. What is your initial reaction?
- Step 2: Flamboyant or not, Liberace knows how to play the piano. How do you think the piano reacts to Liberace’s piano-playing skill?
- Step 3: Express your emotions about this song. Does audience participation or reactions make a difference?
Please be sure to leave comments about this writing prompt. We want to hear from you!
About the Author
Amanda M. Socci, J.D., is a freelance writer with 14 years of experience writing professionally. Socci currently cuts her blogging chops on her personal portfolio blog, the Creative Idea Gal blog, and on an online news site, Mount Vernon Patch. Inspired by Nina Amir’s Write Nonfiction in November writing challenge, she created a unique 10-month training program for Writenonfictionnow.com and Writenonfictioninnovember.com blog visitors.
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