The Old Upright
1892 Imperial Upright Grand
1892 Imperial Upright Grand
I'm not sure that I remember being given a choice as to whether or not I would take piano lessons when I was 8. My first piano teacher was a woman from our church who spent more time teaching me the pronunciation of the letter 's' than music theory or sight reading. I don't know how many times she had me repeat 'A snake hisses. Hiss. Hiss. Hiss.' I must have improved, because at least today no one laughs and points, but what I remember most about her was her front teeth as she pronounced the word 'Hiss.' Nevertheless, she did give me at least an introduction to the piano.
When I got a bit older, my parents hired a nice piano teacher in town to give me weekly lessons. Mrs. Folstad was a very kind, very accomplished, and a very terrifying woman which should have been incentive enough for me to practice my lesson daily. But somehow, the dreaded look of annoyed disappointment when I would stumble through a piece that I should have had perfected, wasn't always enough to override the distraction of the moment. I had a horse. I had a football. I had a life. I was a pill.
Mrs. Folstad was a great teacher, weaving music theory into my lessons. I remember note spellers and chord sequences, tonic, dominant, sub dominant, etc. all things that I had to fill out in my piano notebook. Actually, I loved that part of it. Even today I quickly jot down intervals on the back of a church bulletin when there's a new chorus, just so I can review it when I get home. My teacher was firm but forgiving. Even after my less-than-stellar performance, she would give me milk and cookies and let me watch the birds at her feeder while waiting for my parents to pick me up. She was an amazing woman. And I did actually learn to read music. Now I wonder, 'how did she tolerate listening to so many kids playing 'The Spinning Song' or 'The Wigwam Song' over and over!
Still, I did love to play the piano, the faster the better, and once put thumbtacks on all the hammers to make it sound like a player piano - sort of. It worked great for ragtime music! Don't worry, it wasn't a Steinway. In fact, it was some old piano that my mother and her best friend painted with speckles, putting the hose on the wrong end of the vacuum cleaner. It was a fad, and they created a hideous, beloved monster.
Mrs. Folstad was a great teacher, weaving music theory into my lessons. I remember note spellers and chord sequences, tonic, dominant, sub dominant, etc. all things that I had to fill out in my piano notebook. Actually, I loved that part of it. Even today I quickly jot down intervals on the back of a church bulletin when there's a new chorus, just so I can review it when I get home. My teacher was firm but forgiving. Even after my less-than-stellar performance, she would give me milk and cookies and let me watch the birds at her feeder while waiting for my parents to pick me up. She was an amazing woman. And I did actually learn to read music. Now I wonder, 'how did she tolerate listening to so many kids playing 'The Spinning Song' or 'The Wigwam Song' over and over!
Still, I did love to play the piano, the faster the better, and once put thumbtacks on all the hammers to make it sound like a player piano - sort of. It worked great for ragtime music! Don't worry, it wasn't a Steinway. In fact, it was some old piano that my mother and her best friend painted with speckles, putting the hose on the wrong end of the vacuum cleaner. It was a fad, and they created a hideous, beloved monster.
Still just pretending. But maybe some day!
Although more likely to learn violin from his mama.
Although more likely to learn violin from his mama.
Anyway, the other night on PBS (maybe the Newshour), there was a segment about music and whether or not it helps children learn. A woman had begun a program in several large cities whereby privately funded music programs were put into the schools to help the underprivileged enjoy the gift of music. What they noticed was that the grades of the students improved as they were learning to play an instrument. Not only were they learning to focus, but were also training their brains to learn better and more. A neurologist was brought in to actually test the instrument-learning students against a control group. Their ability to learn other things, such as science and math, improved with the musical skills they were developing. They also found that the music students were much more likely to graduate from high school and go on to college.
The interviewer challenged the head of the program, 'But kids are listening to music all the time!' he said. She responded with, 'Yes, but you don't get fit by watching someone exercise. It's not a spectator sport.' (a loose paraphrase). But the point was, it's the learning of the instrument that causes all sorts of pathways in the brain to form, thereby enabling children to learn other things as well. It was fascinating.
I bought two new piano books. Now I just need to set aside time each day to work through them.Watching that program was motivation, that's for sure.
How about you? Did you study a musical instrument when you were child? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Do you think that learning music helped you? How? Do you still play? What are your thoughts on this? And how do music lessons stack up against sports?
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