Last night, I read an article in the latest issue of Notre Dame Magazine that made this piano teacher's heart sing. It's a sweet, short, little essay called, "Not calling it quits" and it's about the beauty and richness that can come from not giving up on piano lessons as a young child (as so many do).
Patrick Dunne, ND class of 1960, writes this:
So how do you respond to your child's "I want to quite piano" plea?
Think. How would you answer a youngster's desire to quit going to school, quit behaving well, quit taking baths, quit wearing clothes? Some things a responsible parent must insist on.
Nagging and iron discipline are not the answer. Instead, take an interest. Care. Once your child connects with a piano teacher he really likes, you're home free. Practice makes perfect, so the logical goal is to make piano practice fun. Once the budding pianist falls in love with daily practice, all difficulties disappear.
The goal need not be to become a "concert pianist." The thrill of performing a Beethoven sonata or a Chopin étude or a Bach fugue well is the true province of the amateur pianist. Even for the accomplished pianist, the quintessential audience is himself, herself. For therein lies the rapture, the life-enhancing joy of personal creativity.
I just might frame it.
p.s. There's still time to enter the giveaway for a fun box of some of my favorite things! Just leave a comment on this post. Thank you!
