It is a marvelous thing, and such a tribute to the human psyche, that we feel capable of doing intellectually challenging things at any age. We feel this way because ,in fact, we do have this capability.

Learning to play piano can be particularly challenging because it requires that we perform multiple skills simultaneously, and some of these things are not as easy as they appear. If you are familiar with the TV show “Beat the Clock”, you know that Bob Barker gave his contestants a simple task to do, like toss a dozen eggs into a bowl that they strapped to the top of their head. But just as they felt that they knew how to do it, he would say “Oh yes, there’s just one more thing… you have to do it blindfolded!” Well you don’t have to play piano blindfolded, but you do have a few things to learn that are tougher than the egg toss.

You have to learn the letters of the keys on the keyboard. You have to learn the letter associated with each line and space of the treble clef. You have to learn the letter associated with each line and space of the bass clef and will be surprised to discover that they are different. You have to read both clefs at the same time and observe the fingering numbers and the dynamic signs and repeats. And if this isn’t enough to think about, you have to do it fast enough to “beat the clock”…in piano, known as keeping the beat.

The acquisition of these abilities can be overwhelming to some of us and in the back of our mind we have this little voice telling us that we are too old to be doing this. If you really want to play piano, don’t listen to that voice! Good practice techniques, patience, perseverance and some help from your friends in class will get you through it. Modern technology can help you through these rough spots too. Just try not to be too hard on yourself, because that never helps. Come to class and talk to us about what is holding you up, and chances are we will be able to help you through it.

When you watch someone play, it looks really easy. So people say to themselves “I’d like to do that. Maybe I should take a couple of lessons.” Then they take a few lessons and discover that it takes more than just attending a class. They discover that they have to work at learning how to do it. Then they think they would rather do something else at that time. Then they forget about it. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just human nature. We try a thing to see if it is right for us and if it isn’t, we move on.

Now here is what I think is the big secret about learning to play piano as an adult… “You just have to love it.” If you love it, you’ll make time for it, the exercises won’t be boring and it won’t even be work. You’ll practice, and you’ll love the practice. You’ll keep practicing and you’ll keep getting better and you’ll love it even more. And the next thing you know you’ll be saying what you’ve always wanted to be able to say… “I can play!”

No matter how old you are, just being able to say that, will make you feel pretty doggone good. I'll do my best to keep you in class, to show you the fun things that will keep you going, to help you over the rough spots, and help you become a player.