Dear Piano Student,

You sit here at the tender age of 6 on the piano stool and try so hard with your little fingers to play “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and your joy as you master it is so precious to me. I see in you so much potential, but the road ahead is long, full of scales and arpeggios, Hannon and Czerny opus 299 and its ridiculously fast speeds… and I hope that you will get there and here is why.

I want you to feel the joy of playing a Chopin Waltz, the thrill of Lizst’s Transcendental Etudes, the emotion of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”.

I want to you know what it feels like to be one with your instrument, and in a moment be lost in the music that your hands make.

I want you to feel the electricity in your fingers as they seem to move effortlessly over the keyboard as the audience watches, transfixed, from the edge of their seats.

I want you to have those moments when no one is watching and you just let it all out, and let the music speaking to your heart.

But most of all I want you to know that in your hands lies the power to produce beautiful music, music that can speak across languages, ages and spaces. When words fail, as often they do, you can bring music that can speak to the heart, music that will bring joy, and love and comfort, music that has power to speak to the deepest emotion, and that enriches the human experience.

So, little one, when the scales get boring and your fingers get all the notes mixed up. When you practiced so much your hands hurt, don’t give up, remember I believe you can do it. Have courage keep going because the best music is waiting for you to play.

Love,
Mrs C