Playing the piano has been an enjoyment in my life. I’m not an accomplished concert pianist by any means. Playing for the fun of it is what I like doing, and of course playing hymns for church is also top on my piano selection list. My parents were determined that I should play the piano. They started my lessons while I was in kindergarten. It never was easy as a youngster practicing the piano every day. I remember Mother sometimes having to stand over me making sure the practicing went as planned. I loved being able to entertain by either singing or playing the piano. Again my parents were my encouragers. I had several different piano teachers and all were wonderful teachers. The two who seemed to help me the most in my piano playing for church services were wives of pastors. At that time I needed all the help I could get as I started being a substitute church pianist at the age of 15.
Becoming a piano teacher came accidently while I was in high school. A friend of my mother’s asked if I could teach her two daughters. From there on, except when I worked full-time for the newspaper, I gave piano lessons. It is enjoyable to teach something I love so much to others. Of course, some students are more welling than others to learn. It takes a lot of practice to learn to do anything successfully. There were students who always came prepared for their lessons and a few who did not which is normal. Some students carried on with lessons for a few years. Some who dropped out after the first year or two. Learning to play the piano is not an easy task, but it can be rewarding if it is accomplished. Many I have visited with about their once taking piano lessons and then not following through with it have confided they regretted not continuing. I always say it’s never too late to learn and to pick up where they left off.
I haven’t kept track of how many students I have taught, but it is wonderful meeting up with my former students and hearing about their piano lesson and recital memories. Some of my former students are now parents and a few are even grandparents. That is hard to believe. Two of my students were sent on to other teachers as I believed I had taken them as far as I could. One of those students became a doctor. She came to visit me a few years back. I asked her if she still played the piano. She said it had been hard to find the time while studying to become a doctor, but one day she came back to her apartment after a stressful day and there was a piano in the apartment’s lobby. She sat down and began to play. She had forgotten how playing the piano could be such a stress releaser. She found herself drawn to play the piano more regularly.
So many good memories of piano students through the years. There were a lot of the planned recitals held through the years and how proud I was of the students and all their efforts it took for them to prepare their selections for that recital. It is a lot of work for the parents of the students too in taking lessons. The parents make arrangements getting the students to the lesson and home, seeing that practice is being done, and the expenses of purchasing a piano, and the lessons.
In more recent years, after my retirement from my job, I was approached by neighbors who had children who wanted to take lessons. Not wanting to turn anyone down who would like to learn to play the piano, I took on two or three students at a time. More pianists are always needed.
Recently my current three students participated in a combined recital with students of two other teachers. It was thrilling to hear those 27 students of various ages and levels play. They all would walk up to the piano, place their music just so and adjust the piano seat to their liking, then they began to play. Proud family members and teachers watched. At the end of the solos, each player took a bow to the audience clapping in appreciation.
Listed in the recital program were some interesting facts about music, playing the piano and music in general, offering encouragement. I’d like to share those with you. “Piano lessons have been scientifically proven to assist children in school subjects, raise self-esteem, increase coordination, aid in concentration, and help make them well-rounded....20 percent of children learn to play music and 70 percent of adults wish they had...students who have experience with music performance or taking music appreciation courses score higher on the SAT.”
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