Music Please!

Nat started piano lessons September 11, 2007 Suzuki style. Lessons was half an hour each week and we were told to get a proper piano and no keyboard. However, due to space and budget constraints, we never got about getting a piano. In fact, our keyboard was a birthday pressi from the dear sister of mine, fondly known as yee ma or yee mama by Nat. We bought the books and the audio CD and started on our journey.

Mid March 2008, just six months into learning, when he could just barely play the different variations of Twinkle and other simple folk songs like cuckoo, we were told by the teacher that a performance was coming up end March and Nat could perform if he wanted to and if he practised hard enough. I decided not to let Nat perform and instead just bring him to watch the performance as I felt he was not ready.

30th March, 2008 - it was a Sunday. We had lunch with dear yee ma and family as it was her dear doggie buddy's birthday. We had a good time and Nat got so caught up in the fun that he refused to attend the concert when it was time that evening. Nevertheless, I dragged him there and he was so so grumpy about it saying things like "I HATE PIANO! I HATE TO GO SUCH CONCERTS!" in the car ride there. At the concert, he was completely restless saying that he was not keen to watch people perform and he did not want to attend since he was not performing. I thought that was really self-centred. Really sad to see him like that and speaking such. I spoke to him nicely and even ended up giving him a piece of my mind of respecting and appreciating others before we can expect others to respect and appreciate us.

2 days later, during piano lesson, Nat was humming and singing a tune of which I was not even familiar and therefore hardly took any notice. At the end of the lesson, the teacher asked me how was it that Nat was humming a tune from Volume 2 when we were only at Volume 1. I was taken aback and thought it may be one of the songs that he heard on the television Little Einsteins or some other programmes. Then, being curious, I asked Nat to sing the song again and he did. Of course, I still did not find it familiar at all. Then the teacher suggested he could have heard it at the concert and stayed in his head. It's just amazing how these children retain information. Something that they need to hear once or twice, we adults probably need to hear a good whole ten to twenty times more to achieve the same effect.

Well done Nat! Mummy's proud of you!