.png)
Learn About My Piano Journey
From my first song (Hot Cross Buns) to my most recent (Mozart's Turkish Rondo)
The Beginning
I first began piano lessons in 3rd grade. I don't remember what my motivation was, but I guess I just decided that I wanted to become a pianist one day. However, I ran into issues. First, I didn't have an actual piano. I was using a toy keyboard. Second, I didn't really mesh well with my teacher. I didn't feel like I was actually learning anything, and I rarely practiced. So, I stopped my piano lessons.
The Turnaround
A year after my failed piano lessons, there was an opportunity-a piano sale at Washington & Jefferson College. At the time, my dad was Vice President of Academic Affairs there and had orchestrated the whole sale. So, I was able to get a discounted digital piano. That reinvigorated my passion for piano and not too long after, I began lessons with my current teacher, Mrs. Weber.
The Journey
Right from the start, I clicked with Mrs. Weber. It was finally the right person at the right time. The first couple of years of lessons were a bit rough. The piano curriculum she had me using was called the Pace Keyboard Approach. While it taught me a lot, and I'm glad I did it, I hated those books at the time. There were four of them- Music for Piano, Creative Music, Theory Papers, and Finger Builders. I went through Books 1 and 2 of each of them. It was an agonizing process. Along with that, I was working on regular pieces on the side.
I started in the late fall of my 5th grade year, so I began with Christmas songs through the Christmas Delights books. Then, I started with the Famous & Fun Classics. They were all the most popular classic songs, but they were simplified for a beginner pianist. In addition to all of that, my teacher would add in songs she thought I should learn. Once I reached 8th grade, we switched from Famous & Fun Classics to the Piano Literature books. The Piano Literature books are compilations of the original works by composers from the different time periods. I was finally playing the original songs and not the simplified versions. I also finished the Pace books, and started the Brown Scale Book.
The Present
Now, I am on Volume 4 of Piano Literature. I still use the Brown Scale Book from time to time, and my teacher will supplement my learning with more contemporary songs. I played an arrangement of Moon River a couple years ago. Currently, I'm finishing up Invention 13 in A Minor by Bach and working on learning Mozart's Turkish Rondo.