Two Musical Bits

I'm not starting an advice column, but I thought I had two bits to share about musical training on the piano. I'm no concert pianist, but I enjoy playing. I also enjoy accompanying others. Several of my friends and family are beginning to put their kids into piano lessons, so I just thought I would share some advice from my experience...

I'm not an expert, but I believe that playing for a recital and accompanying are almost two different talents. I say that because I have known several people who are a whole lot better at playing the piano than I am, but they freak out when they have to accompany. I had to learn how to accompany--by doing it. I started when I was 12 when I sometimes played for my church Young Women's group. I almost cried sometimes because I would get lost as they kept singing--a capella. But, somehow, I kept finding myself being asked accompany--and agreeing to because no one else could/would--until I became used to it. Now I don't care if I mess up. I figure if someone else is judging my accompanying skills, they can just take my place and play for me!

As the child grows in playing skill, I also think it's important to include the songs from their church's Hymn book (they can start with easy versions) or Children's songs with their other piano lesson books. When Rob and I took piano lessons last year, Rob asked our teacher if he should bring along the Hymn book. He was playing classical music. She said it wasn't necessary since classical music teaches you what you need to know. In a way, that's right. But Hymns are a style in and of their own, and songs made for accompanyment are a bit different...so it's important to include them in the playing repretoire. And when you practice a song every day for a week, you may not play it for a couple of years, come back to it, and your fingers will still have some memory of how it's played. (Yeah, that's based on personal experience.)

Anyway, I hope those two bits were a little bit helpful!