5 Minute Collage
5 x 7"
TREBLE
After many years with no piano in the house we bought a simple upright for our daughter when she was in high school and wanted to learn to play. One day after everyone had left me alone I sat down at the piano to see if I could still play. Reading the notes for the right hand didn't give me any problems except I was incredibly slow, but the bass! I could not read the bass notes. I had no idea where to put my left hand. I was clueless. Well, Mom, thanks for 7 years of piano lessons that I never wanted in the first place.
No, I didn't ask my daughter to show me, but when she'd had enough of the piano I didn't force her to stick with it. Our family had wasted enough money on lessons for a girl who learned to hate the piano because she was forced to play it and I wasn't about to repeat that mistake.
I'm enjoying your collage stories. The last two about music brought back lots of memories of Church choir and piano lessons/practice. Have a great road trip with lots of journal entries and photography .
ReplyDeletewell jo...I just muted the tv and read your two posts here about the piano and Women's Voices to my husband. HE was the tyrant of our family that forced our three kids to play the piano and another musical instrument from Kindergarten through high school. I sit here after 35 years with the dang piano behind my chair! It has 4 keys that don't work and the only use for it is it holds the cat food bowl so the dog doesn't get into it. My kids still hate the piano and will never force their kids to play! :)
ReplyDeleteMy kids always begged me to NOT SING to them, and my husband asked me not to sing to the kids when they were little because I would teach them all wrong. LOL I am truly bad. He on the other hand sings very well, and plays music at church to this day.
Dear Jo...
ReplyDeleteAfter re-reading my comment I was disappointed that it sounded so negative about my WONDERFUL HUSBAND! I just called him a tyrant because the kids didn't like the piano, and I hated enforcing their practice. But two of the kids are mathmatically minded...and son is getting his second masters in Mathmatics! They say that piano affects the same side of the brain as music affects. Good thing.
Anyways...didn't mean to make it sound like DH wasn't a great dad and hubby! :)
Hi Cathy,
ReplyDeleteDon’t worry about sounding a bit negative about DH. I totally understood, especially since you said you read my post to him. I understand that my mother insisted on the lessons because she didn’t have the opportunity and wanted me to have a better life than she did. And since she wasn’t a quitter she didn’t want me to be one either. At the time it seemed quite heavy handed and showed a lack of understanding and I rather hated her for it. In time I forgave her because I learned a lot from the experience… not that I learned to love piano, but I did learn to practice, to “just do it” even when I didn’t want to. And recitals taught me to get up in front of people and perform, and later to speak and teach.
All too often we parents don’t “read” our kids’ giftedness very well and prod them into doing something they don’t have a chance of doing right.
You’re right about music + mathematics. There’s a strong connection. I’m really bad at math as well as playing instruments. I can do both but it’s a stretch.
Thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving such thoughtful comments.
Jo