Piano Lessons
Daisha Ferdinand
Piano lessons again. Oh dear. For that 5 minutes walk to Mrs Gray’s house, I could think of nothing worse than sitting at the piano for half an hour. The thought of it alone made me uneasy. Especially as I’d had no practise this week. In fact, I never had any desire to practise, because it seemed that no amount of work would be enough to win Mrs Gray’s praise. It’s hard to believe that sitting in one place for 30 minutes could be such a traumatising experience, but I endured this frustration week after week, learning hardly anything and making little progress.
That was, until I started lessons with Mr Hawkes. I like to think of him as a saviour! Now, I know I shouldn’t blame the teacher, but Mrs Gray, bless her soul, just couldn’t keep my interest and enlighten me in the way that Mr Hawkes always did. He was a rather old jolly man, quite stereotypical of a piano teacher in my opinion. He was well spoken with a kind of swagger and clearly had a well-off upbringing. Coming from Edmonton, a “ghetto” area of North London, I’ll admit that on first impressions he seemed a bit... stuck up. Little did I know that he’d change my perception on classical music forever.
“What do you want to play?” Mr Hawkes asked. I hesitated, slightly shocked at being asked this in our first ever lesson.
The truth was I’d never been asked this question before. Of course, I’d always known the answer, but Mrs Gray had never thought to ask. I’d asked her to teach me pieces before and she often said they were too technically demanding for the standard I was at. I’d never understood how I’d benefit from what she taught me. Besides, it was all scales and exercises with her – nothing fun.
Mr Hawkes’ question was not a hard one and it may not seem significant, but it was these 6 simple words the triggered off a change in me. These words began a determination within me and filled me with burning enthusiasm. For once, learning wasn’t being imposed upon me. I was given the choice of learning something that really interested and excited me. I’d always wanted to learn the piano but Mrs Gray had kept me stuck on exercises and scales for 5 years now, and I was sick of playing it safe. I wanted to be challenged.
I chose one of my favourite Mozart sonatas, one of which I’d often listened to on repeat, but only dreamed of playing myself. Mrs Gray would have never taught me something so technically intense. The mere fact that Mr Hawkes was willing to teach it to me was enough encouragement because it showed that he believed I was capable of learning the piece.
I learnt later on in life that it is of great importance to believe in yourself from the start, whether or not other people share that belief. If you believe that you can master something, you’ve adopted the correct mentality and you’re already half way there. In the words of Manisha Ferdinand: “Begin bravely and believe, aspire greatly and achieve”. My elder sister knew what she was talking about.
So in the first few weeks that Mr Cooper coached me, I went from having no confidence and hardly any interest in classical piano, to someone with great passion and drive. After maybe the 2nd or 3rd lesson, I took a break for the Christmas holidays. Over that two week period, I lost myself in learning this sonata. Every day, I’d sit for hours on end, practising passages over and over again. I played until my fingers hurt and wouldn’t let me continue. Through all of this practise, the piano began to make more sense to me. It suddenly became an extension of me, I saw it as a new expression and for the first time, practise was therapeutic.
There was the occasional point when I’d come to a particularly difficult passage and frustrate myself because I couldn’t quite grasp the technique. Whenever this occurred, I’d take a break and come back to it. Normally I’d master the passage when I revisited it. My explanation for this is that in order to absorb any kind of information, it’s best to be relaxed. Alert and focused of course, but above all, relaxed and patient. It’s easy to get frustrated when you’re learning something difficult that won’t come straight away.
Predominantly, what kept me persevering in this situation was my passion for the music. Learning this piece had made me remember why I had initially wanted to learn the piano. The childish excitement and eagerness I’d had 5 years ago was coming back to me now. I loved this piece and mastering one bar gave me so much satisfaction. I was keen and patient in my practise sessions, always imagining the finishing result to block out the temptation of giving up when obstacles appeared. Although learning small chunks of the piece, bit by bit, I kept reminding myself of how rewarding it would be to play the full sonata. Each bar was a miniature step towards something I’d always dreamed of.
So after the Christmas holidays, my lessons with Mr Hawkes resumed. He was utterly shocked at how much progress I’d made with the little guidance he’d given me. “You did this all on your own?” he exclaimed. I’ve never felt so proud of myself. In the years which followed Mr Hawkes guided me through many different works for the piano, some of which I initially had little interest in learning but I kept in mind how they would benefit my technique and ability in the long run. Even when I was struggling with a demanding piece, I kept in mind the bigger picture and always remembered my love for the instrument. I think this mentality can be applied to many aspects of learning, even though I discovered it at the age of 16, participating in extracurricular activity. I have most certainly adapted it to many different aspects of life and it’s responsible for the outbursts of total commitment and focus I have in particular learning situations.
I’m currently a first year music student and even though I am very passionate about it, occasionally I come across an area of study which seems extremely difficult and almost irrelevant to what I want to achieve in due course. However, I always keep in mind the many different elements needed to be a professional performer. Everything I learn is one step closer to my ambition, whether it seems relevant or not. The point I’m trying to make is that you should have the desire to learn and the belief that you can master it. It’s also very important to understand why you are studying a certain subject and how it will help you with related topics. I never forget why I’m taking the course and what goals I eventually hope to reach – my ambitions are always in the back of my mind.
Since starting at the University of Surrey, I’ve been faced with many learning situations in which I’ve experienced a similar feeling of eagerness and enthusiasm. I’ve also become a lot more independent in my learning and I’ve learnt that you if your attitude is positive enough, you don’t need encouragement from others. It’s so very cliché but believe in yourself. It’s the first step to success in any situation. That really is the best advice I could give anyone.
So I will now end this simple childhood tale by saying thank you for reading. Out of all the people that read this, if I’ve inspired YOU, just the one person to work that extra bit harder and have a little more confidence in yourself, I’ve achieved my goal – and there’s nothing stopping you from doing the same.
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