Play Loud and Love It

e and a base knowledge of letters and numbers is being acquired; these three elements are fundamental in learning to read and play music. As I matured as a piano student, I began playing in recitals and at church and entering local competitions and festivals. With my piano teacher's guidance and approval, I took on my first student - a sweet little girl from my mother's children's choir - at the age of 15. I continued to play, study, teach, and accompany throughout high school and college, with my first "paid gig" at a local church and my "big break" accompanying a musical in college. While piano and music were not the focus of my studies, I never stopped playing and frequently escaped to the one grand piano on campus to play out my frustration, joy, homesickness or love, or simply to amuse my friends. Since college, there have only been brief periods (boot camp, for example) when I haven't taught piano lessons. I am exceedingly patient with young starters, but a diligent taskmaster when it comes to practice and theory. I make sure my students understand that playing piano is not just a skill, but a set of skills that build upon each other, so practice and doing the theory homework is a MUST. I sometimes use reward stickers or other tools to help motivate students toward goal completion. As for myself, I still practice almost daily outside of the lessons I teach and still try to learn something new every day, I occasionally accompany or act as rehearsal pianist for local community theater groups, though accompaniment is hardly my strongest skill. I like to focus on teaching kids (and the young at heart!) to enjoy - or dare I say "love" - playing the piano. I don't expect them to love it the way I do, but to find their own unique voice, expressed through their fingers on the keys.