Celebrating MARDI GRAS, CHLOE AND KATHY having so much fun on FAT TUESDAY - decked out in face paint and mask, playing the duet, "Comin' Round the Mountain." Piano lessons are fun for the student and the teacher!!
What a thrill to play a duet with one of my own students for the offertory at our church, Winfield United Methodist! Kira Ackerman is playing my keyboard (standing up, no less!!) and I am playing the harp. Kira is a 5th grader, very active - cheerleading, soccer, but she finds time for her piano and has become quite a confident performer. I am very proud of her!!
Jordan Rumbach and I play duets for fun and also to work on many performance skills. Nothing helps rhythm skills more than duets. It makes me so proud to see students develop the ability to stay with me while playing - not quite the same as a solo! Jordan is a great student - very busy at school and church, but she always practices every day!
There are many good reasons to start piano lessons as an adult. One, of course, is for the joy of learning to play. But did you know that two of the best ways to stay sharp in later life is the study of music and crossword puzzles!? That's right! Now, crosswords are fun, but just think of how many songs you would like to be able to play - or better yet, do both! Fourteen years ago I started learning harp; I had always wanted to learn, and my dad built a beautiful 36 string harp for me; I lost my dad just a month ago, so I treasure this harp even more. I will tell the story of that on another day soon. But I started learning and realized all over again what it was like to be a beginner. I was having to concentrate like I had not done in years. I now have been playing professionally for quite a while and I love playing. But I still do not have that "natural" feeling on the harp that I have on the piano and keyboards. It will hopefully come in time - and more practice! It was very good for me to start a new musical study - and I do crosswords, too! This picture shows the harp, as well as some other renaissance instruments; Peggy Pearson and I did a special concert for my students and not only played period music on period instruments, but even wore museum replica costumes.
I was teaching 6 year old Saif the other day; he had his first piece with a three-note chord and the funniest thing happened. Every time he played the chord, he giggled! I loved it! Later that week, I was playing a piece arranged by Teresa Wilhelmi, a wonderful christian jazz artist. I came across one of her wonderful, unexpected jazz chords and I had a "Ooh" moment, kind of like a giggle inside and I thought of Saif! Music can really do that! Although there is nothing really new under the sun, I am so glad that in rare moments, something catches us off guard and a truly honest response happens. Life still has surprises and music still moves us to feel something we cannot quite express with words. We just feel it and enjoy the moment. It is hard to imagine my life without those moments. While I know that everyone is not wired to feel through music, I know that everyone needs to at least explore possibilities. You never know . . . .
It is so exciting to start a new website! I'll be checking in on the blog, showing what all is going on with my piano students, as well as my music life - piano teacher, rock & roll keyboardist with WHITE CHOCOLATE, harpist with PANACHE and music director at WINFIELD UMC!! I hope to feature some of my students in videos, too. When I think about when I was a student, it occurs to me that I am still a student and hope I always will be. Some people are surprised when I say that I still practice! Music is a never ending journey - the fun is the ride - not getting to a destination and stopping. I guess that's why I love to teach - I get to ride along with my students and remember what a good time I had along the way where they are now. Now, I get to do so many different musical things and get to share the experience with lots of other musicians. Life is good!!
