One piano, seven hour lay-over

One of my adult students who works for the Oakland Zoo just came back from a trip to Africa - Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.  Besides telling me of the many beautiful animals she saw, she told how she had a seven hour lay-over in London on both legs of her trip.

She beamed as she told me that she had discovered a piano at the airport that had a sign, "Play Me."  So she sat down, and did just that.  This woman is a beginner, and had not brought any music books with her, so she tried to remember some of the songs she knows, namely Ode to Joy, Marche Slav, and Old MacDonald.  She laughed as she described how all she could do was the first few lines of each song, but she kept trying and trying.  "The workers at the airport kept encouraging me, 'Keep practicing, you can get it.'  And when I played Old MacDonald, families would walk by and sing along with their kids."

There are several aspects of this story that struck me.  First, this young woman (not half my age) was not afraid to play when people could hear her.  Secondly, she didn't give up when at first she couldn't remember the pieces---she spent 2 hours at it!  And thirdly, she hadn't planned on playing the piano on her vacation, but when the opportunity presented itself, she practiced.

As you can imagine, this adult beginner is making great progress because of her attitude and her application.  What an inspiration.  And how she created a big smile across her teacher's face.