Maeve, aka “Liz” was welcomed into the universe of music sharing in the beautiful Oakland Hills of California. What better backdrop, cloaked in nature, as breezes wafted through branches, shaking out leaves in graceful patterns. The images, extracted from the East Bay’s gorgeous panorama are in Maeve’s mental repository, as they feed relaxed energy down her arms into supple wrists. Many Russian piano teachers draw on the “weeping willow” tree model, in particular, to inspire fluidity of movement. Graceful approaches to the keyboard that are in synch with phrase contours do not happen by chance. They are nurtured along by mentors with great care.
Maeve has learned in this spirit for a bit over a year’s time, having been exposed to the singing tone and how to physically produce it. From the very start of lessons we have integrated composing, ear-training, theory, structure, with an underlying MUSICAL framing. Sound is imagined before it can be channeled into the keyboard in physical motion. This very sensitivity begins from day 1 continuing in increments through developmental phases.
Maeve’s own journey has been logged in videos from late February 2016 to the present. These can be found on You Tube under “LIZ’s” piano lessons.
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Today was a Rite of Passage as all first recitals are. Can we remember our own? In my day, there were no cell phones, camcorders, computers, etc.–perhaps just old-fashioned home movies generated by what would be considered antiquated hardware—Nothing like the mega-technology of the 21rst Century. I have no personal recollection of playing in a group recital at my humble music school on Kingsbridge Road in the Bronx. Not even a Brownie camera captured my first Diller-Quaille, two-note “Ding-Dong” piece that required my Russian teacher, Mrs. Vinagradov to accompany me to make the music sound full and resonant. That’s why I hungered constantly for our rich harmonic collaboration, having to wait for too many years before I was allowed to play with TWO hands–ADD in the White NOTE obsession of this era’s teaching, and delayed exposure to the Bass Clef which instilled fears of moving forward.
Thankfully the state of the teaching art is different today, more progressive than regressive, breaking down inhibitions of the past associated with MIDDLE C fixated madness and black note avoidance.
The fortunate beneficiaries of this new learning/teaching consciousness are Maeve and many of her contemporaries.
Today’s recital revealed the fruits of collective labors. Maeve was poised and determined to SHARE the pure beauty of the music she had so thoroughly learned. It was her entry into the world of giving and receiving that will propel her studies along with heartfelt commitment.
A big Thank You to the host of the group recital, Betty Woo, on behalf of the Music Teachers Association of California, MTAC.
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Flashback: Maeve’s First Piano Lesson (parts 1, 2 and 3)
There are many more sample lessons with Liz on You Tube.
But you made me recall a rather embarrassing debut for my twin brother and I. When we were seven, we moved to a rambling Victorian house. A woman and her teenage daughter moved in upstairs and I recall my father carrying the upright piano up those stairs with his strong back.
Immediately, our mother enrolled us in piano lessons with our young teacher upstairs. We both struggled learning music (that I have since forgotten) but enjoy playing and singing simple children's tunes.
We were both terribly shy, but our mother was always pushing us to get out in public because we were so "cute." Anyway, a local radio station had talented kids on in the afternoon and we were invited to come and play and sing.
Not only was I shy and nervous, I just wasn't interested enough in piano to try to play and sing well. It caught up with both of us when we had to go on the air. We both played badly and sang terribly as I recall and were very embarrassed at the mistakes we made while playing, even forgetting the words in a couple of places. Fortunately, it was just us and the announcer in a small studio with no audience. Still, I thought about all the people out there listening and hoping to hear something cute from us and only getting gibberish. But it was a good lesson to learn because we always did better after that when in a public setting.
Ron