Learning Piano in Middle Age

Like a lot of us, I took piano lessons as a child and quit around eleven. So when I inherited the family piano, it still took me two years before the excuses ran out. Finally, I was no longer wrapped up in all those important things, like finding a mate. I don't know about anybody else, but that sure did eat up a lot of my time. I told myself if I could practice for thirty days straight for an hour per day, I could justify getting a teacher. After 90 days of straight practicing I went to the Yellow Pages and found a teacher that was willing to come to my house, Eric Scortia. I had no idea I was getting a celebrity and an extremely well known teacher among families in the Irving, TX area, including Dr. Phil's when Phil's kids were children. His website is http://www.vitalorgan.org/

When I started up, I had to make a commitment to continue to practice an hour per day. In order to do so, I had to give up TV for that hour. Fortunately, my boyfriend is the better cook in the household and is OK with cooking while I practice. I'm telling you, having a "foodie" for a mate has benefits on so many levels! Our house is open between the kitchen and the living room, so we can hear each other. Plus, he likes listening to me practice, so it is a win-win. Having him listen to me practice also helps me get past my stage fright. I grew up practicing in the living room with the door shut while the rest of the family watched TV in the den. If I practiced scales, Dad would beat on the wall between us and yell, "Play a song!" Needless to say, I suffered a lot of performance anxiety when it came to piano. When I hear adults talk about their experiences as young piano students, it's not unusual to have a teacher or a parent that turns you off to piano with all the pressure and perfectionism. At least I didn't have an anal teacher. Mine were always very nurturing. Now when I make mistakes, which is all the time, it's not a big deal.

Why is it important to have a teacher? Why can't I just practice and learn new songs on my own? I did take about a two year hiatus from Eric and I wound up going from an hour a day to about an hour or two per week. I practiced the same old songs for those two years. I was so glad to get him back and my progress is back on track.

As an adult, what is different from learning as a child? As a child, I was not enthusiastic about learning how to read music. Therefore, I would have my teacher play the song for me and I would play by ear. The shortfall of this technique is that, as you get older and want to learn new songs, you cannot learn anything you don't already know the melody of, and then you have to do your own arrangements or keep getting friends to show you how to play songs and have a really good memory. As an adult, I no longer wanted to play strictly by ear. I was willing to do the hard work of learning how to sight read, which Eric is big on. We do some sight reading of fresh songs every lesson. Now there's something that will get you over your fear of playing in front of other people: sight reading on cue. I've often wondered, "How does Eric stand it? It's so bad the first go 'round." Well, that's about the only way for me to get better at it. And he's never complained.

Do I participate in recitals? For the first five years I did. It was me in my forties, three high school aged siblings, and 25 kids ten and under every Mother's Day at Northlake College. The audience was made up of parents and grandparents. How's that for pressure? I don't know if I will keep putting myself through that since it's stressful, but the good part is I have a goal to practice for whenever I have to work on a piece for the recital date. What I wanted to say to the families at the recitals was that I knew that many of the parents in the audience were frustrated pianists and needed to start taking lessons again along their kids. Dr. Phil did! Eric says he has lots of adult students, but they don't want to be in a recital. If you can get over the group picture (I look like the teacher rather than another student) it's good to have the experience of playing in front of an audience. The video clip attached is me in 2004 at a recital after two years of lessons. The second one is me today. Playing in front of my boyfriend with a camera is only slightly less stressful than playing in a recital. It's all about the journey, not the destination, with all hobbies.

I do not expect to ever do this for money. At one point I dreamt of being a wedding or party pianist and I started practicing wedding music to develop a repertoire. I now think it may very well never be in the cards for me to be good enough to play at parties or weddings and that's OK! I play for my own enjoyment which is a worthy cause. Perfectionism takes away from my enjoyment. I don't want to be the critical teacher or parent to myself. There's a lot to be said for doing a hobby because it's just so fun, regardless of talent! Want to keep your mind active to ward off dementia? Learning the piano is a lot more fulfilling than crossword puzzles! The secret is practicing an hour a day. With that kind of schedule, you will become hooked and your progress will be dramatic.

Next week: Watercolor