piano

Lauren has been taking piano for about 4 years, but has never performed in recital. Her first teacher did not do them, and she started with her current teacher during COVID, so this was a big deal, and she fought us hard to not do it. But we held strong and she did it and was happy that she did (small parenting win). The recital was in a cute little church in Mt. Airy. It was very informal and most of the students had only been playing for a few years, so everyone was comfortable.

Lauren played two songs and did a great job. I was hoping that this would spark her love for playing, but alas, we’re still struggling a bit there. Oh well, at least it was a good experience 😉

It also helped that her friend Noa also played. They were super cute sitting together waiting to play. I can remember how intense those nerves are until it’s your turn. And then it’s over and what a relief!

When Sophie was 4 I started her on violin in a Suzuki program. It was very intense, but I was determined that she was going to do it. Despite my dreams of her becoming a beautiful violinist, after almost three years of tears and drama around practicing I finally let her quit. After taking a breather she said she wanted to start piano. This time I took a totally different approach and let her play what she wants when she wants (with guidance from her teacher of course). Although it’s been slow going, she loves it, which is a much better situation.

This weekend she had her first recital, which is a very casual event at Settlement Music School. Basically, the teacher decides when a student is ready, and one weekend a month kids who are “ready” perform. There were 5 other kids, playing piano and cello, and it lasted less than 30 minutes. She was super nervous, but played beautifully, and was proud of herself afterward, which was the best part.