When I was five years old, my first piano teacher was my grandmother, Nana.
It was 1990- White blonde hair, bowl cut, corduroy jumper and wrist bracelet, juice box and snack pack. I was the quintessential 80’s baby. Just getting home from school, I couldn’t wait for my Nana to arrive. Aside from the usual candy or $1 treat, she was giving me my first piano lesson!
I can close my eyes right now and see us sitting together at our piano at our home on Summer Hollow Trail, the green walls, worn brown carpet, the rickety, hand-me-down upright piano with our initials scratched in the wood with opened paper clips… I can even faintly smell the old sheet music that used to pile up on the side of the piano top.
My nana was so fun, energetic, and full of passion for music! She was an public school music teacher in the Atlanta school system so naturally she knew just how to reach my little imagination. She had this sweet, engaging approach to everything that pulled me in.
She had all these fun little games and singable phrases to learn things, it made lessons so easy and fun. Side note: I wish adults still used songs and cute little tunes to help us get through life and learn things. Wonder if it could work with other things like work proposals, news stories or math problems… I digress.
My two sisters and I all took piano lessons from Nana until it became too much to balance work and traveling at her age and we switched over to another piano teacher in the community. The fact that all three of us continued to do music though as a career in our own right, might not be so coincidence.
My first impression of music instruction was so positive, nurturing, exciting and FUN! My nana’s energy alone was enough to keep me coming back week-to-week. It was less about note values or note reading perfectly and more about the investment she was making in me.
Whether I remembered stem directions or time signature didn’t matter yet. It set the stage for my mind and heart to be open to music in general and eventually as my life’s calling.
What mattered at this early phase was this deep personal connection with music to positivity and joy through a teacher who valued my little spirit.
That long-lasting, deep connection of music and joy had been established with Nana’s sweet nature and continue to carry through the rest of my life! I was also super lucky to have other incredible teachers along the way- encouraging me, giving me opportunities, and ensuring I had the fundamental knowledge of my instrument to be successful.
Part of the Blue Feather mission is to bring this same spark of joy to every lesson, from beginner to experienced students.
We consider it an honor to be a part of your child’s first lessons experience and we want to bring that same joy that I experienced with my Nana at my very first piano lesson, just with a better haircut and outfit I’m sure ;)
No matter what path your child follows in life, if we can make music education a positive experience for our students, we have the opportunity to transform the next generation! Those formative moments can have a lasting impact on their lives and our culture overall- and that’s something we are honored to be a part of.
On that note,
Laura