Nick has been taking real piano lessons for 2 1/2 years now. I started him out, and then he kind of taught himself (cuz that’s just the kind of kid he is) for about a year and then we broke down and signed him up for real lessons. He has made huge strides, and can play some really complicated pieces…as long as no one is listening. He always uses headphones to practice on our electrical piano so that the noise doesn’t bother us or the neighbors. It’s very practical, but the problem is that now he gets very self conscious when anyone else can hear his mistakes. It also prevented me from enjoying the fruits of his labors.
But about 5 months ago, I was upstairs cleaning in my craft room while the other kids were playing Playmobil. Nicholas, knowing he was alone and safe, took off his headphones and started playing. We could hear the music as it floated upstairs to us. It was beautiful. We literally all stopped what we were doing and just listened, even Alexandra. By the end we were all leaning forward, physically trying to get closer to the sound, it was that enthralling. When the piece ended, we all spontaneously started clapping and cheering. He was upset,at first, that he had been “caught” but realized that we were all being very sincere and then smiled big as one kid after the other told him how good the song sounded. I told him I had no idea he could play so nicely already, and asked if he would consider playing every once in a while without headphones, just so we could have the pretty music in our home. We promised to stay out of the room, if he would just turn the volume up a little. He reluctantly agreed.
Then his piano teacher announced she was holding a recital for all her students and Nicholas would be playing one of the hardest pieces, right near the end. He did not tell us this until 3 days before the actual recital. It was also the night the school was having all the families visit New Aeugst. Originally the recital was supposed to start halfway through the school visit, which was mandatory that all the kids be at. Thankfully, the school and the teacher got together and rearranged the times, so that the school started earlier, and the recital later. Thanks everyone for making it easier to be at both events!
In order to prepare for the audience part of the recital, we had Nicholas play with no headphones at all, and with us in the room. It was surprisingly difficult for him mentally, but he played beautifully. He did super at the concert, only freezing/forgetting once, right in the middle. But he didn’t panic, didn’t start over, and after a few seconds he began playing again with no mistakes at all. Way to go, Nicholas! If you want to watch the whole performance in it’s entirety, here you go!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeJZ6lWHfoc]