Piano Lessons

Robert has started piano lessons. He's only had two lessons so far. I watch with baited breath. I wonder when he will start to resist practicing. I wonder if he'll fall in love with it and do it forever. I wonder about any natural talent and how to help him develop a good relationship with music education in the long term regardless of natural talent.

I wonder about this because I had a rocky experience with music lessons that kinda fell apart in 4th or 5th grade and only as an adult have I returned to piano playing as a source of fun, of challenge, and of calm. Well, it's more fun now that I've stopped forcing myself to learn only church hymns. I finally realized that the church hymns were holding me back. I know that hymns are infinitely more practical than practicing Chopin or movie soundtracks or Phantom of the Opera, but I don't enjoy them as much. So, for now, I work on pieces that bring me joy in other ways :)

My favorite part of Robert's experience so far is hearing him sing the notes as he plays them. He also likes to explain his theories/understanding of how a principle works once the teacher has shown him something new. He's constantly thinking about how and why something is the way it is. He often wants to voice his theories. And once he's comfortable with you, he'll voice pretty much every theory that pops into his head :)

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I find that kind of personality SO rewarding to interact with. I love to know that I'm one of the trusted few. I love how his theories bring up all kinds of fascinating questions and topics to explore. I like to see his eyes lose focus and his words trail off as he starts imagining what something would be like if this or that was tweaked just a little bit...

He gets me thinking about stuff in new ways.