Piano Teacher Wicky says goodbye to the "Piano Teacher" part of her name.

I know, it's not a world headline, and it's no longer breaking news, really, but I thought it would be an appropriate time to write it, and this happens to be my 200th post.

            Over the years, despite the name of my blog, piano teaching was rarely the focus of my postings.  It was, however, my main source of income, and my daily reminder to enjoy music.  That being said, I'm not sure I've really left piano teaching behind for good.  I have a feeling I will pick it up again someday, even if it's on the side, or just with my own children.  Over the past week, I've been busy getting ready for school, but I wanted to take a moment out of all the confusion to reflect on my old profession.
            Even though I taught my last lesson in June, and some of this information is dated, I wanted to share with my few trusty readers the speech that I gave at the end of my last piano recital, on June 18.  It was the first time I actually read a speech off of a paper; usually I would think of a few things beforehand and just wing it.  But I was glad that I did write it down because I did have a number of things I wanted to say, hoping it would ring true with a few little ears, and being able to read it off of a paper meant that when I got choked up a few times, I was able to keep going, instead of being overcome in the moment.
Here are Piano Teacher Wicky's last (formal) words to her students:

As you all know by now, I am going to stop teaching at the end of this month to go back to school full time in the Fall.  I want you all to know how much I have enjoyed working with you, and getting to know each of you over the last six years.  

Each week I have asked a lot of you guys, often asking you to play things that you thought were "too hard," but you always were able to do it!  I hope you can remember this as you start lessons with your new teachers, and also when you come across things in or out of school that seem too difficult at first.  I know that’s what I’ll be thinking about when I am challenged at school next year.  Every time you work on something that seems hard, you’re becoming a better piano player, student, athlete, or whatever so that hard work is always worth it.   All of my students have put in a lot of hard work over the years, and it definitely wasn’t unnoticed by me!   I hope that you all realize how much that hard work has paid off, and please don’t forget it!   

Over the years I’ve met so many people who, when they learned I was a piano teacher, told me how they wish that they had learned to play piano when they were young, or if they did have lessons, they tell me stories about their own piano teachers, and express how much they wish they had never stopped playing the piano throughout their lives.  I’ve known each of you so long now that I’m sure you won’t forget me, so I hope that the memories you have of me are mostly good ones, but more than that I hope that you have learned to enjoy playing the piano and that it’s something you will continue to do, even if you don’t have a teacher reminding you to play each week.  

I will see each of you for at least one more lesson, but since this is the last time that we’ll all be together, I want to wish you all healthy, happy and musical lives.

I will keep this blog as an outlet for my craft projects, etc., which (let's face it) has been the main subject of it so far anyway.  I hope not too many visitors will be thrown by the title, but it's mine, so I'm keeping it.  Whether or not I'm an active piano teacher, it will always have been my first job, and a great experience.  

Something to remember my students by

Over the past few weeks, I've said goodbye to all of my students.  Some of them were among my first students, when I started teaching, so it was tough to say goodbye, and interesting to think how much they had all grown in the time that I knew them.

One family, a brother and a sister, had been taking lessons with me for 6 and 3 years, respectively.  I've grown very close with both kids, and the mom, and I loved that in our last lesson, they each gave me a personal note.  The kids are pretty creative (I'm sure due in part to the mom's creativity!) and had made me some pottery.  Here is the boy's vase that he gave me, which has the circle of fifths etched into it, so I would never forget my music theory, he said.

Another family, with 3 little girls, I've known since the oldest started taking lessons almost 6 years ago.  Over that time, each girl started to take lessons with me, and the youngest likes to draw pictures for me quite often.  Here is one she gave me in a lesson just a few weeks ago, which I think is so precious that I might frame it and put it up above my piano.
This other picture, which they gave me as a going-away gift, was taken at our final recital a few weeks ago.  I think it's a really sweet gift, and this one I have already put up on my wall.  It's funny to see that the oldest girl is now taller than I am, because when she started taking lessons with me, she was smaller than her youngest sister.

It's the end of a long era, but hopefully the beginning of something equally great.

Book 'em, Wicko!

Over the 6 years that I've been teaching piano, I've collected a lot of teaching books, new and old (some with prices like 60 cents written on the cover, they're so old), with all the greatest intentions that I would use every one to become the most thorough piano teacher in the world.  Psssshhht!
            Each spring, my company offers $25 gas cards to teachers and clients who want to clean out their piano benches (in my case, bookcases) of old, unwanted books.  25 books = $25, which is a pretty crummy investment, it turns out.  But, it's better than nothing.  So tomorrow, I'm driving to my company's office and turning in 75 piano books.  Don't worry, I've got some left over, just in case this whole architecture thing doesn't work out for me and I have to go back to my original career.  I estimate that I've got about 100 books that I collected just for teaching.  That doesn't even begin to compare to the number of piano books that I have for playing.  Maybe I'll count them one of these days, if I'm so bored.

Teaching Revelation:

Sometimes "not right now" really does mean "not right now."

If you are a piano teacher (or something comparable), you've probably had some students quit for the summer or something and say "we can't really do lessons right now but we'll call you when we're ready to start up again."  This is usually a nice way of saying "we don't want to have piano lessons anymore."  I should know, I've said it to guy or two after less-than-amazing dates.  I think it's a valid brush-off.
            So usually when I hang up the phone or close the email after getting a message like that, I think "I'll never see them again."  Almost always this is true.
            But, amazingly, I've just gotten an email from a family who wanted to start up lessons again with me (and only me they said).  Also amazingly, this is not the first time that's happened.  Unfortunately I can't accommodate this family now, since I'm going to stop teaching at the end of June to get ready to go back to school.  I'm going to try to do what I can to get this family to try another teacher.  Hopefully they aren't as serious about having "only me" as a teacher as they were about actually getting in touch with me when they were ready to start lessons again.

Aha.

Today was one of those really good days of teaching where I think "why am I quitting this job again?"
            At the end of a particularly good lesson with a student, who has taught herself most of the A section of Fur Elise, I told her how great she was doing and she said "yeah, I finally got interested in reading music."  That was a direct quote because I walked back to my car and wrote it down.  What a little cutie.

Practice makes perfect, losers!

I found this online a few days ago.

The things they're teaching kids these days (other than piano, that is)
alternate effect: his piano teacher loves him and rewards him with many stickers . . .

When my ears beheld a weary sight.

I had a little spook today.  At one of my lessons, the electricity flickered off and on at my student's house.  When it came back on, the stereo automatically turned on and started playing whatever was in the cd player.  My student and I didn't notice it, until we heard a spooky voice sing "I was working in the lab late on night . . . " and we realized the stereo's song of choice was Monster Mash.

Open, Sesame

Today I taught 6 piano lessons at 4 different houses and at each house, one of my students opened the door for me before I even got to ring the doorbell.  I guess those kids just can't wait an extra minute for their lessons!

There's Nothing to It.

"There's nothing to it.  All you have to do is hit the right notes at the right time."  -J.S. Bach

             When I was younger, we had this quotation framed, and sitting on my piano.  It's just a funny little thing, but oh so true.  I thought of it yesterday when I had a little "aha" moment with a student.
            The previous week, she had been working on a piece that was a song with verses.  In each verse, the basic notes are the same, but since the words change, so does the rhythm (more 8th notes to fit in more syllables, etc.).   She had an impossible time with it and I tried everything with her (well, everything I could think of) to figure out these rhythms.  She's had trouble with rhythms before - sometimes she just gets them right off, and sometimes to take a while.  Sometimes she never figures them out and we just move on (terrible, I know).
            Anyway, yesterday she played the piece for me with perfect rhythm.  I said "that was wonderful!  How did you get the rhythm so much better?"  Her response was that she just played the notes at the right time.
Oh!  Why didn't I think of that?!

dotted rhythms, dot dot dot

Tonight I was teaching a Beethoven Sonata to a student and almost corrected him on a rhythm. Luckily I double-checked before I actually said anything because it turns out that he was playing the right rhythm and I was the one who had learned it wrong - so many years ago!

So am I a good teacher because he knew to play it right, or am I a bad student because I had learned it wrong in the first place?

Recitals and Post-its.

I meant to write this a week ago, but I always feel bad when I don't have a picture to put with a posting.  Oh well, words will have to suffice this time too!

Last Saturday, my student piano recital went very well.  16 kids played, as did I, and everyone emerged smiling and looking forward to the next recital.  One of my students was a little more nervous than usual - actually, he was shaking he was so nervous.  I gave him a chance to get through the piece on his own, then I finally went up to him, put my hand on his back just to give him a little stability, and pointed out a good starting point in the middle of the piece; from there on out he played very well.  In the next lesson I told him that that happens to a lot of people, including yours truly.  One time in college, I remember my leg shaking so badly, I was afraid that it would make the whole piano shake when I went to use the pedal!

I made some sugar cookies to serve after the recital and some of the parents brought cookies and juice as well.  The cookies I made I really like - they're a recipe from a Colonial Williamsburg cookbook that I got a little while ago from my Aunt Mommy (you know who you are - and if I remembered it wrong and it was actually from my mom, oh well!) but instead of using orange zest I used lime zest and pressed them with some green sugar I bought around Easter.  They were a hit!

On the way back to the car, Nate the Great said "there's a post-it note on the car!"  and indeed there was.  Over my First Cavalry magnet (showing support for my step-brother who is currently serving with the 1st Cav in Iraq) was a note which I have up by my desk now: "First Team All The Way!!  I served with B-Co-8th Engr. Bn 12-Bravo, Vietnam '69-'70.  John S."  Thanks for the note, John S. of Park Ridge, IL.  

Another reason to love the internet

So the Spring Piano Recital is in less than 2 days.  I show up at a student's house for his final lesson before the recital - by the way, one of the things I like about teaching at my students' homes is that the piano music is never conveniently forgotten - and his music isn't there!  It turns out he had removed his copy of Fur Elise from his music binder to take in to school and play for Jazz Band auditions.  As cool as Jazz Band sounds to me, I am not jazzed about this at all.  Luckily, it being Fur Elise, a copy was easily found on the internet, printed out and played multiple times in this all-too-important lesson.

And by the way, he made the Jazz Band, and he is section leader for piano (with one other kid playing piano as well).  My student.  I taught him everything he knows!  Well, maybe not everything . . . but you know what I mean.  I guess we're going to be playing some jazz this summer.  

Sidewalk Chalk

Yesterday, as I pulled up to the last house for my last lesson of the day, I was greeted by a very personal message to me on the sidewalk.  As I walked toward the front door, I read "Hi Hether, Come on now, let's have a fun lesson today!  Love, Abby."  As I left, facing the other direction, it said "bye Hether!"

What a nice way to start and end a piano lesson!

Perks

One of the good things (slash very bad things!) about working with kids is I have an opportunity to buy Girl Scout cookies every year.  This year I was smart and made sure to only order 1 box from the first student to offer them to me, assuring myself that I would support all my little girl scouts equally by buying 1 box from each.  To my surprise, she was the only student to sell me any cookies.  Had the rest of them quit the Scouts this year?

As it turned out, no.  When I arrived at my final lesson this evening, I was greeted by a living room infested with Girl Scout cookies.  "A dream come true!" I told the mother.  At the end of the lesson, while peeking around over 100 boxes of cookies, the mom asked me what my favorite kind was.  "The peeeeanut butter ones!" I said.  

"The sandwich ones?"  

"Oh no!  The ones covered in chocolate."  

Imagine my delight when I was presented with a box of Peanut Butter Patties, free of charge.  This is the life, I tell you!

What goes around

When I was first learning to play piano, I learned by ear, so it took me quite a while to be comfortable reading music.  When I was about 12, I was at a music store with my dad and I picked up a book of Scott Joplin rags and announced that I was going to teach myself how to play The Entertainer.  My father, skeptical, paid for the book and home I went to figure the piece out.  I taught the whole piece to myself and worked and worked and was waiting until I had it perfect before I surprised my teacher with it.  

Then one day, my sister came to a piano lesson with me and at the end of the lesson asked "when are you going to play The Entertainer?"  Gaaaah!  She spilled the beans!

(the picture is of me, around age 7)

I was just about to leave my last lesson yesterday when my student's mother asked me if he had played Linus and Lucy for me yet.  "No!" I announced, and then was delighted to hear a very skilled performance of the beloved Peanuts theme.  While this student never struggled with reading music like I did, the effort he put into this piece on his own really impressed me.  It was so nice to be on the receiving end of such a great surprise.  The family also asked me to stay for dinner, but unfortunately I had to turn them down since Nate was at home making dinner for me.  But believe me, their dinner smelled good!

Putting opposable thumbs to good use?

Actual conversation as I'm leaving a student's house yesterday evening:

Student:  ow, my eye!

Me: what happened to your eye?

Student:  I poked it.

Me:  Have you ever heard of the Darwin Awards?

Student: yyyeeeeaahhhhhh.

Help!

I have a student who looks like Harry Potter, loves the Beatles and has a touch of ADD.  I love to chat with my students and learn what movie they love right now, how school was, etc. and I always end up kicking myself when I chat with this kid because if you get him started he can and will talk about anything at all.  

In our first lesson back from winter vacation yesterday, I asked him if he was glad to be back to school, and he answered "yes and I have a crush and she loves the Beatles and she loves the song Help" (which he played for the recital just a few weeks ago).  I asked if he had played it for her yet, and he said "I haven't found a piano at school yet."  So I suggested he keep playing every once in a while.  He needs to be prepared if the opportunity to serenade his crush should arise!

2008 quick facts.

I can't necessarily say it's back by popular demand - since I don't know how many (but I have an idea of how few) people read this blog.  But I liked recapping the year in this way:

Piano lessons taught: 922

Piano Recitals: 2, plus one company-wide concert

Album of the Year: Asking for Flowers by Kathleen Edwards

     Runner Up: The Stand Ins by Okkervil River

Favorite band I discovered: Glen Hansard/The Frames

     Runner Up: The Shout Out Louds

Best Song:  All the World (I Tell Myself) by Correatown

     Runner Up: The Cheapest Key by Kathleen Edwards

Favorite Movie in a Theater: Wall-E

     Runner Up: Sex in the City (that's right!)

Favorite Movie from Netflix: The Assassination of Jesse James . . . 

     Runner Up: Anne of Green Gables trilogy

Favorite Play: Our Town, performed by David Cromer and the Hypocrites

Best Concert: Kathleen Edwards at the Metro

Best TV Show: Mad Men

Favorite Book: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

     Runner Up: Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

Favorite Game: Apples to Apples

Cubs Games Attended: 13 (including one post-season)

     Number of those games they won: 11

New City I visited: Milwaukee, WI

Best thing I did there (other than go to a Cubs Game): the free tour of the Miller Brewery!

Christmas in November and Brain Farts

One of my little teaching secrets - which I'm not sure I can call a secret, since it's on the internet and free to all - is this guy's website.  Over the past few years, I have come to know the selection of music at this site very well and it's a great place to find easy pieces to use as supplements to my usual method books.  Perhaps I rely a little too much on this website . . . 

         This past weekend, I taught some extra lessons to make up for lessons we'll miss at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and to help prepare for the recital.  One student, who is taking off a few weeks around Thanksgiving, had an extra-long lessons, so I decided it was a good time to learn a Christmas carol, since I won't be seeing her as much in early December, when I would normally teach carols.  I brought her Deck the Halls and she learned it in record time; I almost ran out of things to teach to fill up the hour lesson.  

        When I came back for our regular lesson this week, her mom said to me, "Deck the Halls, yeah, she learned that last year."  I had printed out the same exact song, from my favorite website, and taught it to her last year.  No wonder it was so easy for her to learn!  So I said to my student,  "I'll bring you a new Christmas song next week," which she took to mean,  "you're not allowed to play this one anymore."  

        Not to worry, Claire, you may still play Deck the Halls - and it sounds so good when you play it!  But there's no rule about how many Christmas songs you're allowed to play.  I probably play 50 different Carols, so I think you can manage 2 this year.

The Generosity of my Students

Every now and then, a student will give me a little gift.  sometimes they will be a handmade card - one I received recently said on the front: to miss heather. open now, close later.  Inside it exclaimed "your the best!"  From this same student, I received another something in an envelope, which turned out to be this.  I'm not sure what it has to do with me, really, but it was a very nice little fashion drawing.  look out, project runway!

I have another student who likes to give me candy at the end of every lesson.  While I will only occasionally eat the candy, I always accept it, just in case he comes up with something really really good sometime.  Yesterday, he gave me a pumpkin head pez dispenser with a full roll of lemon pez (he says "my favorite flavor, even though they taste nothing like lemon").

My personal favorite item in the past few years was Piano Pig: a girl scouts project, which is nothing more than a paper lunch bag with some faux pink fur on it and a face drawn on.  The student who bestowed it upon me said I was to show it to every student . . .  maybe I will someday.  For now I just keep it at home by my own piano.