My mother was quite a lovely pianist (she won the West Virginia Chopin Competition in high school), and thought that all four kids should take piano. I hated playing scales, I hated playing the exact notes on the page and most of all, I hated practicing (especially when she would set the oven timer to make sure I played for 20 minutes). I convinced her to let me quit after five years of lessons (and three different teachers). I never wanted to play the piano for the sake of playing the piano, but I loved accompanying singers. I particularly loved treating the piano as an "orchestral reduction". (I learned how to do that thanks to Fred Barton, Brad Ellis, and the ethos of Forbidden Broadway). The funny irony is that in recent years, I've been playing more in the context of TV, and have had the pleasure of being the "ghost pianist" for Hank Azaria, Josh Grisetti, and Tony Shalhoub on Maisel, and for Kevin Kline on American Classic, among many others. And I still LOVE to play dance rehearsals and accompany singers.