Being Creative - Lance McDowell

A man with no arm sat near me in church. I thought, "Could I survive without one of my arms?" I decided I could probably learn to deal with it. Then I realized I could no longer play the piano. "Yes I could," I thought. "I could just play the right hand and it would still sound okay. But what if I was missing my right arm instead of my left?" That's when I knew what my project would be.

I started simple. I played Mary Had a Little Lamb using only my left hand to play the right-hand notes. That was too easy. I progressed to hymns. Choose the Right didn't sound awful. Nearer, My God to Thee had one flat but I managed okay. Then I attempted one of the most difficult pieces I know: New York State of Mind by Billy Joel. To my horror, the song contained a multitude of accidentals and chords with six notes. I stuck it out, painfully, to the end. Then I thought, "What would happen if I had the use of both hands but limited fingers?" I pulled out the Scotch tape and went to work.