Starting lessons with a new adult piano student

Just this past week, I had an ice-breaking LIVE lesson with a new adult student. Naturally, the introductory inquiry sent by email turned out to be an invaluable opener, since the prospective pupil imparted a generous serving of his musical history. As counterpoint, I responded with a few additional questions to fill in minor gaps.…

Rina, 5, plays “Little March” by Turk–10 months of piano lessons–and a flashback to my childhood

Rina marches forward making great progress. For a child of 5, her gains are remarkable. By comparison, my early piano studies were unremarkable. When I embarked upon lessons at age 6, I lived in the Marble Hill Projects, (Bronx, New York) in a small apartment that had no piano. As a consequence, I had to…