
Can you picture it-
this very proper, professional looking girl has a dark past of crawling under the piano as a 4-year-old, pressing the pedals left to right, right to left, climbing up and down the bench for almost half an hour— then asking at the very end,
“Can I have a sticker?”
Whenever I think of Ms. Dai, my first piano teacher, I always wondered in awe – how did she manage to find the patience to deal with me?
But beyond patience, she had this innate understanding of letting kids be kids, while somehow magically luring me (probably thanks to the sparkly stickers) back to sitting upright, hands curved, and fingers gently (“but firmly!”) pressing into each key.
Eventually that crazy kid grew to earn a Bachelor’s degree in music!
She wasn’t surprised though; she always believed in me.
It wasn’t until I started teaching students of my own (classes of ten 3-to-5-year-olds for Yamaha Music classes, and various private and group lessons with kids and adults,) that I realized the impact she had on me.
this very proper, professional looking girl has a dark past of crawling under the piano as a 4-year-old, pressing the pedals left to right, right to left, climbing up and down the bench for almost half an hour— then asking at the very end,
“Can I have a sticker?”
Whenever I think of Ms. Dai, my first piano teacher, I always wondered in awe – how did she manage to find the patience to deal with me?
But beyond patience, she had this innate understanding of letting kids be kids, while somehow magically luring me (probably thanks to the sparkly stickers) back to sitting upright, hands curved, and fingers gently (“but firmly!”) pressing into each key.
Eventually that crazy kid grew to earn a Bachelor’s degree in music!
She wasn’t surprised though; she always believed in me.
It wasn’t until I started teaching students of my own (classes of ten 3-to-5-year-olds for Yamaha Music classes, and various private and group lessons with kids and adults,) that I realized the impact she had on me.