The song that made Joni Mitchell relearn the piano: “I remember David Crosby just going crazy”
Many musicians of the rock and roll generation avoided the formalities of learning to read and write music in classical notation. As Jimi Hendrix and Paul McCartney demonstrated, one doesn’t need classical training to become masterful instrumentalists or composers. Joni Mitchell was an interesting case as someone who learnt to read music yet didn’t seem to benefit much from it.
Long before she picked up the guitar to become one of the most important folk artists of her generation, the Canadian singer-songwriter trained as a classical pianist. She was born in Fort Macleod, Alberta, but lived a nomadic lifestyle in early childhood due to her father’s job as a Royal Canadian Air Force flight instructor during World War II. After the war, the family settled in Saskatchewan for several years, where Mitchell’s father encouraged her to take up the piano.
“I took piano at the age of seven and eight,” Mitchell revealed in a 1985 interview with Michael Small. Anyone who learned to play an instrument from a young age will know that parental encouragement can force the child one of two ways. Sadly, Mitchell’s lessons weren’t conducive to an ongoing passion for the art. “My piano teacher used to rap my knuckles because I couldn’t read very well,” she revealed. “I was a very slow reader, but I memorised it, and I really just wanted to interpret.”
Fortunately, Mitchell’s experience in early piano lessons didn’t alienate her from a passion for creating music. “I wanted to play by ear, which was considered ignorant in this town, which made pretensions towards classicism,” she continued. “It was a small town where most children studied classical something or other. So I have 1st and 2nd grade piano, I believe. And I found some things that even back then are pieces that I had written as a child.”
After completing her first two piano grades, Mitchell realised she could enjoy music much more by listening to the radio and interpreting what she heard. Additionally, her teacher did a good job of repelling her away from formal lessons. “I think she had a secret crush on my father. She used to play piano and trumpet duets in these small town festivals with him. And she didn’t seem to like me very much.”
Ultimately, Mitchell decided that classical piano didn’t align with her taste for western folk and country music. When she became enamoured with a western show on the radio, she had an easy choice to make. “My piano lessons conflicted with Wild Bill Hickok, and given the choice, I would rather listen to Wild Bill Hickock on the radio, and I quit it,” she explained.
Throughout her teen years, Mitchell grew increasingly enamoured with guitar-based music genres and began to write music in folk and country formats. After beginning her career with a series of tours, growing in ever-larger circles across North America, Mitchell stumbled upon David Crosby, with whom she had a brief romantic relationship. However, the pair remained close for many years, and the former Byrds member agreed to produce Mitchell’s debut album, Song to a Seagull.
While recording the album, Mitchell insisted on including a piano progression in the song ‘Night in the City’. As she hadn’t played the piano in many years, she had to “hammer and chisel” the part during an arduous studio session. “I remember David Crosby just going crazy because I had to hammer and chisel that part onto it,” she said. “I could hear it in my head, but I didn’t have the chops for it.”
Since Mitchell didn’t know how to articulate the idea she had in mind, a session pianist wasn’t an option. “I couldn’t write it or tell somebody else how to play it, even though I didn’t have the chops,” she added. “I hadn’t played at that point since I was a mini-bopper.” Fortunately, Mitchell managed to reconnect with the piano during that session and continued to nurture her skills on the ivory from that moment forward.
