Ebonies and Ivories

I took piano lessons when I was a youngun' for about a year. I was probably a 1st or 2nd grader - can't remember exactly - but I wasn't the best about practicing, and often fumbled my way guiltily through the lessons, knowing that my piano teacher knew I hadn't practiced. But she was nice enough, and when she assigned me a page or two in the piano instruction book, she made a check-mark with a pencil, and when I completed that exercise she would write her initials on that check-mark. There was something incredibly satisfying about the way she moved the pencil over the paper, the way she initialed those check-marks. Hard to describe why - it was more than just the fact that I'd completed the exercise.

Anyway, though I only took a year of piano, I learned my notes and a lot about dynamics and rhythm and counting, and it helped me immensely when I took up percussion in the school band.

So now both my kids are taking piano lessons, and it's been so fun helping them practice. Paige isn't thrilled about practicing, but she doesn't hate it. Zach seems to like it in short bursts - we'll go over a piece, then he'll run around a bit, or turn sideways on the piano bench and lay across my lap for a minute or two and insist I tickle him, then it's back to work! *whip-crack*

Their piano teacher is very good with both kids. I noticed she assigns pages of their lessons by making an X in pencil on them, and when they complete that lesson, she write her initials across the X. I wonder if my kids find it as satisfying in the same way that I used to.