I don’t know why, but today I got to thinking about how I realized teaching would be a major part of my life. Besides just piano, it seems like everything I’ve been involved with has had some sort of learning and teaching element. So anyway, just a bit about me and my story. . .
But enough about me, what’s your story? Leave a comment below! What made you realize you love music so much? Tell me about how you became so involved with the piano or anything else in life.
Growing up I always had the desire to play the piano. My parents could not afford to buy a piano nor send me for piano lesson. I love music and paticipated singing in choirs. But it was only when my youngest daughter decided and selected to take music ( singing and playing the piano) that I discovered that I still have the desire. I am retired now and I am grateful for this opportunity to learn to play and having Matt as my teaching.
Many Many years ago I started music evening and week-end classes but had to give-up because of my job (went to East en West Africa, no piano). Now I am retired and want to see if it is possible for me to pick-up learning to play the piano or rather a keyboard, again. So I’ll follow your lessons with a lot of curiosity. Many thanks en cordial greetings.
Jean.
My parents started me on piano when I was about 6. Mom had been the pianist for our church for most of my life up until that point. However, as with most children practicing was a struggle, my friends were out playing and I was stuck inside at the piano doing highly repetitive and uninteresting things. The lessons eventually just stopped. About fourth grade my school started introducing us to band, Dad (a cornet player) had an old cornet and I took that to band class, unfortunately my mouth structure wasn’t suited for the cornet mouthpiece and the teacher recommended the trombone (larger mouthpiece). Dad purchased a used student trombone for me and I played that for a while, and it kind of became an off and on thing for me after we moved and I changed schools. When I was about 14 or so we were overseas and my Dad met the DoD high school band teacher and arranged for lessons again. I took to it with much more interest at this point, even dabbled with the clarinet for a bit. It was my musical expression for years, I played a bit in college not seriously, and I accompanied the congregational singing at church after college, it was just a creative outlet and relaxation hobby for me. About 10-12 years ago I started suffering from migraines extensively, being diagnosed as having chronic migraine about 8 years ago. When the headaches became daily, my trombone was shelved. I couldn’t handle the combination of the breath work and sound. Finally this spring I realized I was terribly missing my musical outlet, and I decided to go back to the piano. My mother is my instructor, and I have good days and bad days where my headaches interfere with practicing, but the enjoyment and musical expression is back and I have a tendency to desire to play more difficult pieces than my ability allows. I found your videos and lessons while researching technique tips to help me with a piece that I am working on.
Hey Robb thanks for taking the time to tell us about yourself. I really hope you got some value from these videos and best wishes.
Being in my latter years I thought that I would have time to do what I wanted have had to work all my life. That all came crashing yo a halt with the bomb shell announcement that I had cancer and it had moved to the spine. I want to do something that seemed mot to require too much movement and thought that sitting in-front of a piano would be something that I could do. So I have bought an electric piano and am trying to learn to play and understand music. I know that it is going to be a hard road to travel/ What I need help with is hand to brain co-ordination and making hand do things that are foreign to me. Big ask and no money to pay for teachers.
Matt
My mother was a concert pianist, and my grandfather actually played rag time at honky tonks in Chicago during prohibition. I took piano lessons as a child, but at about 8 years of age sports called. I did not have the time to practice, and just quit. My mother thought I had great potential and was left frustrated that I chose sports. 50 years later, I started picking at the keys of our piano in the living room, and it all came flooding back. So, now in my early 60s, and want to learn what I missed out on.
I love music of all kinds and took lessons when I was 11-12 years old.
Went into sports so never got back with it.
I will be retiring in the next couple of years and want to start over again with piano.
I know it will be slow but that’s okay.
Thanks for your free lessons.
You’re welcome Anne – I hope you find them helpful!
Matt,
When I was 15 I wanted to learn to play piano, but my mother told me : We don’t have money to buy a piano and of course can’t afford to pay for classes, now here I am trying to make my dream come true. I waited to many years
Hi Betty — awesome it is never too late! Happy Practicing 🙂
It was interesting, indeed! Matt, it’s been a pleasure to have caught your appeal to subscribe to your piano blog. You have a warm affect, and I see you as being a fine individual, I worked in telecommunications for years (27) before switching to being a high school English teacher. I retired from teaching last year, but i must say those sixteen years were the best employment years of my life! I loved and still enjoy teaching or explaining something.
As to my music background, my first memory is of my father bringing home a used LP when I was about six or seven years old. It was a classical music album that had only movements of famous work on it. I used to put it on and listen to Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano concerto (1st movement only). I loved that record, as at even that young age it transported me to a place I had never experienced before. The album also had the 1812 overture on it, and I enjoyed that also. I remember that the pianist on the Rachmaninoff piece was Leonard Pennario, and for years I was fascinated by the fact that anyone could make sounds as beautiful as he did. At any rate, I eventually began to take lessons from an old nun in my urban city life who probably didn’t understand too much about music theory or, indeed, advanced piano techniques. Nevertheless, I took lessons from her until about 5 years transpired and I lost interest or just became diverted. Now that I am retired, I have it in my head to relearn what I once knew, and to go beyond that stage, so I really welcome your videos to aid me on this quest!
.
Hi Jack – Thanks I’m glad you enjoyed this video. I had as similar experience myself as a kid — we had a cassette of the Nutcracker I would listen to on repeat for hours on edge. Interesting how some kids are drawn to it immediately. I hope you find the videos helpful!