The Piano Man

PIANO TUNER, UNTUNE ME THAT TUNE

 ~ Ogden Nash

I regret that before people can be reformed they have to be sinners,
And that before you have pianists in the family you have to have
beginners.
When it comes to beginners' music
I am not enthusiastic.
When listening to something called "An Evening in My Doll House," or "Buzz,
Buzz, Said the Bee to the Clover,"
Why I'd like just once to hear it played all the way through, instead of that
hard part near the end over and over.
Have you noticed about little fingers?
When they hit a sour note, they lingers.
And another thing about little fingers, they are always strawberry-jammed or cranberry-jellied-y,
And "Chopsticks" is their favorite melody,
And if there is one man who I hope his dentist was a sadist and all his teeth
were brittle ones,
It is he who invented "Chopsticks" for the little ones.
My good wishes are less than frugal
For him who started the little ones going boggie-woogal,
But for him who started the little ones picking out "Chopsticks" on the ivories,
Well I wish him a thousand harems of a thousand wives apiece, and a
thousand little ones by each wife, and each little one playing "Chopsticks" twenty-four hours a day in all the nurseries of all his harems, or wiveries.

***

This was Little Wanna's end of year piano concert held in her classroom.  She played "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" (which I always call "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Been") and Jingle Bells.  Months of lessons and practice, and all over in the twinkling of an eye.  So entranced was I by Ro-Ro's rendition of "Cockles and Mussels" that I completely forgot to take a photo.  It was a proud mamma moment.  Good effort kiddos and hearty thanks to the Piano Man for this adept tutoring under sometimes trying circumstances.  We ARE getting better at practice ... truly.

I love that our school offer music lessons during After School Care and enlists young musicians from the ANU School of Music to be the teachers.  It's a convenient and affordable option for working parents and a nice little earner and good experience for the teachers.  We've had doctorate students of the flute and ambitious young people whose aim is to make a living as professional musicians.  It will be as thrilling to watch their career trajectories as our own children's progress with their instruments.