Obviously, when I'm referring to playing music, it's of the instrument kind - not rocking up into a recording centre and just randomly record a few songs or two. Not that it wouldn't be a great idea, but at this stage, there isn't a recording centre that I can breezily walk into (I don't even know any nearby).
But I digress.
You see, I've recently rediscovered the immense private joy that comes from playing an instrument. Not in an aspirational way, but purely from a recreational point of view.
It doesn't have to be a complicated song. It doesn't even have to follow any musical technicalities that often bombard the pages, dictating and restricting.
But what it does do, and does extraordinarily well, is create a soothing calm within you. The piece resonates with you, and allows you to immerse in your own 'environment'. It sounds kind of weird, but I find that whenever I play a piece, it feels as though the piece just comes alive; I could almost imagine the non-existent notes (I usually play without sheets in front of me) just slow-dancing around the music room, inextricably mixing with my emotions.
This is in no way related to skill. Regardless of the skill level that you're at, what really makes a piano, or any other instrumental piece truly enjoyable and warm is the emotion of the player. Sure, it's undeniable that complicated songs are on their own little spectrum of 'enjoyment'. However, if you're really wanting to feel something really profound, it has to come from the heart- and wholeheartedly, at that.
Please note that by saying so, I don't in any way mean to insult those who are/aspiring to be extremely skilled in playing their respective instrument. I'm just trying to highlight the experiences I've had with people who immediately just linked 'complicated, skilled songs' with 'great piece'. Though really, most of these 'complicated' songs were predominantly an embodiment of the original composer's emotions anyways. So whose to say that emotion doesn't play a fundamental role in music?
Music, I find, is so utterly beautiful as it is delicate. Even if you can't or have difficulty expressing yourself to others, I feel that music is one of the few things that people can really honestly and accurately express how they're feeling. People can pour their entire heart and soul into just one single melody, and that's what I find is so profound and powerful about the way music appeals to the individual.