Piano Recital 2014

Every week, without fail, our faithful and patient piano teacher Mr. Otis drives to our house and gives 4/5 of our kids piano lessons. Joy also gets a voice lesson. Like (what I imagine) most children do, ours complain about practicing from time to time. For one of our kids, this is a daily theme, while for the others, it is more-or-less rare.

  Yo-yo begged to begin lessons in February. I had fall in mind as a good start time, but her tears persuaded me ("Please, Mom!"), and she has yet to complain about her practice time.

 The general trend in our house seems to be early enthusiasm, followed by increased grumbling around year 2 or 3, when the difficulty level really picks up. I remember that experience myself as a child. Did my parents let me quit? No way. And that's the approach I'm taking. I know the satisfaction in muscling through the mastery of difficult technique, and the joy that comes from really being able to play.

  Are we pressuring our children to become musicians? Definitely not. Are we hoping to teach our kids something about perseverance? Absolutely. And music, of course.

  Each year in June, all our teacher's students and their families meet in a Methodist church for the annual recital. One by one, each child makes his way to the front of the quiet church and plays or sings his prepared piece. I expected Yo-yo to be a bit nervous, especially because it's her first recital. I was wrong. She flitted about the church while everyone warmed up, and when it was her turn (she was first on the program), marched confidently to the piano and played 2 duets with her teacher: "Winnie the Pooh" and "Sailing."

  Our other kids immediately followed with their piano pieces, then Joy sang "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins. All did very well. Then we listened to everybody else and ate cookies afterward. Grandma and Pada always come, which makes it extra special.

pre-performance goofiness

debut on piano

all our little virtuosos  with their teacher