When an adult calls about piano lessons, they are quick to tell me their age. I guess this is kind of a disclaimer or something on their part. "Please don't expect much from me because I'm old." I usually let them know that my oldest student is 89 years old and he plays beautifully.
Age is a funny thing. It's a number and it only means what we want it to mean. I've met many elderly folks who just seem old. They're often grumpy, impatient and simply unhappy. And then there are those rare ones who, though, the lines on their face and the shuffle in their step tell a story of a life long lived, there is a brightness in their eyes and a gentleness in their soul that sings an ageless song. This describes my John.
I recently posted a blog about John (teacher's pet) and wanted to post something again in celebration of his 100th lesson. John comes weekly and in our lessons together we always end up playing duets together. We just can't help it. He is a "tinkerer" at the piano and can play some very remarkable, melancholy melodies.
Here we are playing together for his 100th lesson. Enjoy!
One week into my two week "stay-cation". Pool, beach, bbq, friends... and last night, fireworks. It's been a great summer so far.
Aside from the non-work activities, I've also taken some time to organize my summer schedule, talk to prospective students, play the piano and the guitar and will hopefully, complete the training for Play-A-Story before summer's end.
It feels great to be doing other things. Gives my brain a break and helps me come back to center. One of the areas I want to dive more deeply into is composition. And with many students taking a break this summer, I'll have more time to focus on playing and composing. My declaration: by September 1st, I'll have written two songs, one for each instrument (guitar and piano). I will let you know how that's going in a few weeks!
Here's a great video of two kids who not only play beautifully, but are also amazing composers. Anna shares a bit of Bach and her brother, Lukas, a sweet little song by Neil Moore. Anna finishes up with a brilliant combination of the two.
Enjoy!
