Did you have piano lessons as a child?

[marino]

Wow, very interesting stories everybody. Here's mine.

 

Short version:

My parents used to listen to classical music, but weren't really musical themselves. However, they noticed that I was, so they sent me to a choir were I learned the rudiments of music reading. And when I was 8, they gave me a little electronic organ. Then I started pestering them for piano lessons... it took a couple of years to convince them that I was serious. And after about 18 months of lessons, the teacher said, "maybe this kid should try to enter the conservatory". So I got auditioned, and started studying at the conservatory in a different town, about 100 km from Rome. After a couple of years there, I was able to enter the Rome Conservatory, where I stayed for about 4 more years. So, seven or eight years of classical piano lessons total.

 

A few sordid details:

- I started a bit too late to feel really natural on the keyboard. In elementary school, I had a classmate who started piano pratically before being born... hearing him play was a definite push toward music. Later, one of my girlfriends was a classical pianist who had started at seven, and I could feel the difference very well; I didn't have their natural, easy approach.

- I was so eager to learn that I actually read the music instruction book from school, probably the only kid in the whole school to do so. So when I started lessons, I was already familiar with things like the circle of fifths, the bass clef, time signatures... at the first meeting, the teacher got angry, because she didn't believe me when I said that I had never taken lessons before.

- My first teacher was an exceptionally beautiful young woman. She used to receive me wearing a light robe, probably thinking that a 11-year old kid wouldn't have problems with that... but folks, sometimes I really got distracted. 

- While studying at the conservatory and playing organ in my first rock band, I also started studying jazz. I got so involved that at 18 I left everything and went to London... there, I also did something I'm still proud of: I auditioned to enter the Royal College of Music, and got accepted. But due to a bunch of circumstances, I never started the academic year, and returned to Italy.

 

Etc. etc. etc. 

 

 

 

 

 

[stillearning]

Dad was a concert cellist and bought me a toy piano for Christmas at about 3. When he noticed I was playing along with TV commercial jingles, he bought a Baldwin spinet and I started lessons at 4, continuing for years. Enjoyed it at first, but he became overbearing, insisting I was destined to become a concert pianist.
 

Probably could have been, since by the time I was in 7th grade I was studying at a local college Conservatory of Music from the head of their piano department, doing juries and recitals along with college students. Stopped enjoying classical music and eventually quit lessons, but Dad bought me a combo organ and I joined a few bands in High School, and went on to play in all kinds of bands off and on throughout my life. Everything from all original efforts to prog tributes to pop and corporate type bands.

 

Fast forward… I’ll be 68 this month, can’t play classical music to save my life any more, but I can sit down and play most any pop or rock song after hearing the first few bars, and I teach one night a week in retirement at the local School of Rock. And I’m grateful for the lessons Dad forced me through, even though I grew to hate it at the time. Still sit in with bands when their regular keyboard player can’t make a gig. 

[Joe P]

I had 2 years private with Mrs. Novak – all classical.  Then, on the recommendation of a classmate’s mom, switched to Ed Zapula.  He was all about improvisation, jazz, standards, cocktail piano.  He made me do classical as well to keep up my reading chops.  I was with him for 5 years.  He taught me what he called “The 60 Chord System”.  Play the Maj7, drop your thumb ½ step and play the dominant, drop your 3rd to play the minor 7th, drop your second to play the half diminished and drop your thumb again to play the full diminished.  I did that thousands of times in every key and developed a muscle memory for those chords that I still have to this day, 40 years later.  He taught me 9ths, rootless voicings, intros… he had me playing off lead sheets and would suggest improvisatory things to do throughout the song.  Satin Doll, Stormy Weather, Misty.  “It’s a standard Joey, you gotta know it” he would tell me. 🙂  Great teacher!  My father loved Sinatra and would come in after the lessons and b.s. with Ed about music they both loved.  I was very fortunate!  Each weekly lesson was  $7 I think!

[Aidan]

I used to play underneath my mum's grand piano while she practised. At the age of five, I climbed up off the floor and on to the stool and demanded lessons. I was that rare child who had to be told: "That's enough practice for now, Aidan." 

 

And yes, I did the John Schaumm books with my first teacher. I didn't realise they were somewhat looked down on by the mainstream educators here in the UK, for some reason, but I personally loved them, and still have two of my books.

[vonnor]

I was forced to take piano lessons when I was 8, and only because my older brother took piano before me. I quit under adamant protest when I was 12. At 16 I got involved with theatre in high-school and when I saw that the guys who could play instruments got all the chicks at cast parties, I picked it up on my own again. I joined my church "folk" group and got the best tutorage from the bass player (who had done a stint with Glenn Miller). He showed me how to improv off the guitar charts and to do it tastefully. Six years after that I joined my 1st cover-band and the rest is history.

 

~ vonnor

[Spider76]

Took classical piano classes with a private teacher from when I was 9 to about 20.

My parents forced me to do it, so of course I hated every minute of it, especially the go***mn end-of-the-year recitals. Oh how I hated it.

 

Of course, now it's the thing I'm most grateful for. 🙏 

[16251]

Getting into the nuts and bolts of first learning. As I said, I started on organ and was only reading treble clef, with left hand chords and bass pedals (13 pedal - simple stuff.) I decided in 11th grade that I wanted to go music college (WTF was I thinking.) Anyway, started learning classical from same teacher who was an accomplished classical and jazz player.  The hardest part was trying to learn bass clef and integrating them together.

 

When I look back at my first lessons, I wish it was on piano and I went through those lessons where you use both hands to play simple melodies around middle C. I convinced (in my mind,) that my development would of been more useful, although a few more gifts like perfect pitch (or relative,) elders to emulate, natural singing voice, etc. would of certainly been ideal.

[Rod S]

Had about 12-18 months of lessons in those home organs from the 80s (my aunt had one).  I followed the lesson plans (group lessons of 3 people so it wasn't particularly challenging). The two teachers I had were pretty cool and I wish I had put more energy into it.   I think I was 13-14 at the time.    After that, learned on my own when I got my first synth.    The guitar player in the band had learned piano as a kid and actually helped me with a lot of the synth parts, as well as a friend who was classically trained (with whom I did a Jean Michel Jarre cover for a few months....)  I wish I had videos of us playing.  

 

Started lessons again at 29, only did for six months as I got laid off and left the US, then started again at 30, and continued for 2 years until I relocated for a job.  

[Adam Burgess]

Started by ear at 7 playing along to TV shows at my grandparents' house on a mini key Yammy PSR. 

Had (Hammond) organ lessons for a year or two from 8yrs. Fell in love with Leslies! Then got a better PSR.

Did my first paid gig, and had beer at 8 years old 🤩
My organ teacher used to accompany guest singers in a few clubs in town - one day he set me loose!
So, sight reading with a stranger singing. An excellent 'thrown in at the deep end' moment.

Had some guitar lessons at school, with the guy who would later be my A-level music and performing arts lecturer.
He did the same thing when I was at college. Gave me gigs with a day's notice. Deep end, again!

Moved on to piano at about age 10 with lessons from the local church guy, did some ABRSM exams over the next few years -
grade 8 piano (never worked so hard since! That was tough!)
grade 5 vocal (I was playing for a load of students, so thought I'd do it at the same time and accompanied myself)
grade 5 clarinet (don't know how I got that - I was abysmal).

Played almost every day since!

[cphollis]

The family tradition was "lessons through 6th grade", which I also enforced on my children.  After that, I went my own way, playing in bands through high school onward.

 

Pros: learning music theory, music notation and some rudimentary technique.  My father was a MSEE, so we spent time on acoustics and physics as well.

 

Cons: as my primary motivation was to play the music in my head, I didn't have much interest in learning written pieces end-to-end.  Still don't!

[PianoMan51]

Yes. We had a piano at home. In second grade I decided that piano might be cool because my best friend played a piece at school. A year later I played a boogie woogie piece at school and it locked in. 
 

But… in retrospect I think my lessons were backwards. First day had a piece of written music placed in front of me. Utterly wrong. If you wanted to teach a child a new language would you start them on reading that language before they could speak? No. You would start on conversational exercises. In music this is called playing by ear. 
 

In further retrospect, I think that the 20th century was a time of vast musical change for my Western culture. We could now easily hear (and re-hear) new/foreign styles at home. Popular styles changed extremely quickly at times. In this era of European music fracturing into hundreds of sub-branches, I believe that being able to hear and assimilate new music is a fundamental skill set for Musos.

[RABid]

I had a year sometime around the 4th grade. My mother made me quit because she thought I did not practice enough. In reality I was not being challenged. The songs I was learning in the John Thompson first book were so easy that I could play them by the time I went home from the lesson. I started again as a freshman in high school. At that time the challenge was to catch up to classmates. My teacher made os perform at a recital at the end of each school year. The first year I was one of the first to play. She sorted us by talent level and the others had been taking lessons for years. At the end of my senior year I was 4th from the last to play, and the last boy. I remember one of my classmates fussing at the teacher because I was playing after him and he was sure he was better. I had 36 pages to play including a Bach 3 part and Hungarian Rhapsody. Thought I had done well until the girl after me played Russell of Springs. 

 

The last to play was my piano teacher's daughter. There was no question that she deserved that spot. My teacher was good enough to get a scholarship offer from Juilliard. Her daughter showed that natural talent combined with growing up with a piano teacher for a parent. A few years later she talked me into joining a band that her husband was singing in. I joined, but wondered why she did not play in the band. Sometimes I would stay overnight at their house after a gig and noticed that there was no keyboard in the house. I don't know if she ever played after getting married and moving out of her parents' house. 

[Lou_NC]

I sometimes envy those who had piano lessons as a child, but my journey into keyboards was slightly different.  The keyboard idol of my youth was Rick Wakeman in YES, but yet I somehow resisted following in his footsteps since the instrument I preferred the sound of was organ vs. piano.  My folks (thankfully) resisted my pleas to buy me a single keyboard transistor organ of the day, and instead they rented a Wurlitzer spinet organ from a local music store and arranged for lessons.  And my how I enjoyed those in-home lessons, patiently delivered by a thirty-something woman teacher who was quite attractive, smelled great, and basically stole the heart of this 14 year old high schooler.  🙂  I got through two years of lessons (played well enough to entertain my Mom with Broadway show tunes) and gave up the lessons when I managed to snag a high school sweetheart.  A few years later after graduating college, my parents insisted that I take the organ with me when I moved to upstate NY to work for IBM as a newly minted EE.  I spent many hours listening to my favorite bands on the stereo in my lonely apartment, and actually taught myself some rudimentary music theory (which my organ teacher NEVER taught me) by playing along with the stereo.  One of my favorite pastimes to this day remains starting a random playlist on my trusty old iPod or cell phone, and playing (noodling) along, only today it's on a Hammond organ and a Casio piano in my setup.  🙂   To this day I remain extremely grateful to Mom and Dad for giving this pimply high school Rick-Wakeman-wannabe a start!

 

Lou

[eric]

Great thread! I'm really enjoying all the stories. Here's mine.

 

My dad was an accomplished piano player and he was always playing when I was really young. This inspired me and of course it was in his plans to get me started on piano. I began classical lessons around 2nd grade and by the time I was in 5th grade I had met a few of my goals, one of them being to "play that song Schroeder plays on the Charlie Brown Christmas special" (which is Beethoven's Fur Elise). I played this for my elementary school's talent show and it was quite fulfilling. I was also excited when I learned Take Five by Brubeck - my dad would play that entire book and I learned most of these songs as well.

 

Around middle school time, I switched from my first teacher who was a younger person maybe just post grad school and she was fine, but my parents had found a better teacher for me, who had a long waiting list. I finally was moved into her roster of students and was with her from about 7th grade all the way through high school. Mrs. James. She was an intense teacher and I learned a lot. In addition to weekly individual lessons, we'd do bi-weekly "group lessons" with most of her students and she had several pianos in the same room (two very nice Steinway grands and a Yamaha upright). We played arrangements of different songs for multiple pianos. It was a great experience, though I actually was a little bit nervous and stressed about all of it. I was not the most disciplined with practicing and if I got to a lesson where I hadn't practiced enough, it was kind of awkward.

 

I had some pretty solid classical chops at that time, playing the entire book of Chopin preludes mostly from memory, all three movements of Moonlight Sonata, and many others. I started getting kind of burned out on it and wasn't sure I wanted to stay with it. Then my freshman year of high school, the band and chorus teachers discovered me and put me to work as the main keyboard player in Advanced Jazz (was never that great at jazz, truth be told) and accompanying show choir, plus playing in the orchestra for all the musicals. My school had a Fender Rhodes and a Moog organ/synth thing (big white instrument - can't remember the model) plus a Leslie. I played in all the musicals using this rig and that's where I met the drummers, guitar players, bass players etc. and was drafted into my first set of garage bands playing rock music.

 

By 10th grade, I had saved up and bought my first synthesizer, aided by my parents who agreed to help me get it in exchange for me deferring my driver's license and getting a car by a year. My best friend was a year older and drove me everywhere, so this seemed like a no-brainer. I got my Roland JX-8P and life was never the same. I was playing in all these different rock and new wave bands, doing "Battle of the Bands" and various backyard parties, etc. It was a blast. I was hooked and really happy that my classical training had opened these doors for me. My dad also used my piano learning as an excuse to get a much nicer brand new Kawai grand piano for the family, which he still has to this day and plays regularly at age 80.

 

By 11th and 12th grade, I was playing with bands that did college gigs at bars and fraternity parties. This was an era when people didn't seem to care about age and this was even more fun for little old me. One band went on to become "almost famous" and kept me busy touring 15-20 nights a month for a decade, starting from freshman year of college until I was old enough to be starting a family. 

 

My classical chops are not at all what they were in my heyday of high school. I can still pull out the Chopin book and make my way through some preludes, same with Clair de Lune and a few other standards. I'm more of a chord chart reader these days, though I can sight read and remember enough to be somewhat fluent. Oh to have those high school chops back! I'm just a rock player these days. Thanks for listening!

[Adan]

Classical lessons from 6-13.  Never "forced," but never eager, a portrait of insouciance for those 7 years.  Always early to my lessons Saturday mornings to read the comic books while waiting for earlier student to finish.  Occasionally instead of a student it would be the teacher's son playing bebop prior to my lesson.  The son was Rob Schneiderman who went on to a distinguished jazz career.  It may have been Rob who sparked my interest in jazz.  At 13 I told my parents I was done with piano.  At 14 the jazz bug and male hormones hit and I asked to take jazz lessons.  At 15 was in my first rock band with some much older cats.  The rest, while not exactly "history," has at least been a lot of fun.

 

Though I didn't enjoy them at the time, the early classical lessons hardwired a finger-to-brain connection that helped me later on.

[drawback]

I'd been playing piano since the age of four, figuring out melodies and chords to many songs I'd hear on the radio. My formal lessons began at age 7 and my teacher recognized that I was in need of direction as well as by-the-book lessons and I responded well to him. Unfortunately at the end of the year, he moved away and I was stuck with a strict, no-nonsense battleaxe that would slap my hands. I tried to impress her by figuring out the lesson and coming back with chords and harmony but she told my mother that I was wasting her money and that all I wanted to do was "fool around."

 

So, we came to a mutual understanding. She fired me, and I quit.

 

I continued learning by myself from then on. Reading wasn't necessary unless I couldn't figure out a melody by ear immediately, but by the time The Beatles hit, that wasn't necessary at all. Been in bands since age 12. Taught myself guitar. Somewhere along the way, I discovered jazz standards and that greatly enlarged my vocabulary. Took a few Theory lessons with a jazz teacher so I could communicate what I was playing with other players. Taught myself how to read traditional & number charts, some lead sheets. Played professionally 18 to 25, semi-pro to pay the bills through the ensuing decades till 2004, when I quit my career to follow exciting opportunities to play professionally again.

 

Haven't looked back. 

 

I'm not sure what lessons did for me, but let's just say I'm the kind of guy who would rather jump in and fail and learn from my mistakes. That's served me pretty well and because of it, I feel like my journey of learning new things will never end. I'm a work in progress and have no regrets.

 

 

[Jim Alfredson]

No lessons. Learned everything by listening and asking questions, first of my dad who was a guitarist mostly (played a bit of keys) and then later other musicians. I can read very simple melody lines in treble clef since I played alto in middle / high school and did choir. 

[bill5]

"A little." About 6 mos of lessons as a teenager. HATED it and realized why for so many kids taking piano lessons is worse than eating a bucketful of brussels sprouts. My teacher was of the "classically trained" school, like seemingly everyone then, which apparently means you drive your pupils insane by insisting they perform lessons like going up and down the scales 800,000 times a day, finally rewarded by being allowed to play inspiring songs like "Oh Susannah" or "Little Brown Jug." Lordy. Thank God that is finally changing somewhat. 

 

Most of what I know was self taught.

[Docbop]

1 hour ago, bill5 said:

"A little." About 6 mos of lessons as a teenager. HATED it and realized why for so many kids taking piano lessons is worse than eating a bucketful of brussels sprouts. My teacher was of the "classically trained" school, like seemingly everyone then, which apparently means you drive your pupils insane by insisting they perform lessons like going up and down the scales 800,000 times a day, finally rewarded by being allowed to play inspiring songs like "Oh Susannah" or "Little Brown Jug." Lordy. Thank God that is finally changing somewhat. 

 

Most of what I know was self taught.

 

I started piano when I retired a few years ago and been through a few teachers already and have to say things haven't changed much.   Even up front i'm telling them I OLD and don't have years to do the Classical thing first I want to play music I like.   Some have said sure that's no problem and in no time they are back to do these dumbass tunes like you mention or simple classical pieces and I'm gone.    I tried one of those EXPENSIVE online programs of one of those guys who does tons of Jazz howto videos, I told him my preference.  First lesson was classical posture the sit this way,  arms that way, feet here, now that you're uncomfortable play.   Another was an Asian woman who is a TA for one of the big music schools that specializes in Jazz and Pop.  Things started okay but she kept wanting me to play along with her on Zoom and didn't understand the latency issues what a nightmare.   I tolerated her lack of Zoom understanding but then she start into the classical stuff and I mentioned Chick Corea plays classical concerts too.   She said a eight year Chinese boy can play Classical better than Corea, that was the end of my time with her.    I did get a couple lessons with good Jazz teachers and they said you definitely know your Jazz theory but they just don't teach people as beginning as I am mechanically.  At least they were upfront with me.    I finally did find a good Jazz teacher willing to work with me and I'm digging it.    

[kwyn]

I didn't start until my 20s and tried to learn from CDs and other people. YouTube and such. With my mediocre ear and talent I'm way behind where I should be with many bad habits in addition 

[Outkaster]

I had lessons start between 5th grade and 6th grade.   I hated practicing, (still do )😃 I tried suzuki method and my mom pulled me out of that.  Then by fifth grade I started with the pianist for the philharmonic orchestra. I wasn't conservatory material so they made me go with a guy I still take lessons from that is a Latin jazz pianist. My ear is good so I developed instincts there and playing with bands. He taught me how to practice and how save time.

[bill5]

20 hours ago, Docbop said:

 

I started piano when I retired a few years ago and been through a few teachers already and have to say things haven't changed much.   Even up front i'm telling them I OLD and don't have years to do the Classical thing first I want to play music I like.   Some have said sure that's no problem and in no time they are back to do these dumbass tunes like you mention or simple classical pieces and I'm gone.    

Exactly. Such narrow-minded fools. They treat every student like they have all the time in the world and if they just follow these lessons and practice 50 hr/day, they'll be Beethoven eventually. They don't get most of us DON'T EVEN WANT TO BE BEETHOVEN. We neither want nor need perfect posture, the ability to fly up and down the keyboard etc etc. Billy Joel made a comment about this in an interview once and it was refreshing to hear someone of his talent who gets it. 

[Docbop]

8 minutes ago, bill5 said:

Exactly. Such narrow-minded fools. They treat every student like they have all the time in the world and if they just follow these lessons and practice 50 hr/day, they'll be Beethoven eventually. They don't get most of us DON'T EVEN WANT TO BE BEETHOVEN. We neither want nor need perfect posture, the ability to fly up and down the keyboard etc etc. Billy Joel made a comment about this in an interview once and it was refreshing to hear someone of his talent who gets it. 

That's part of the problem with how Classical piano typical is taught they act like being a concert pianist is the only goal.   Some classical piano even complain that teachers and school don't teach what do they call it in Classical world  Collaborative piano in rest of world  accompaniment playing.   A lot of issue I see is these piano teachers that have been teacher out of the same two or three books for decades and practically teacher while asleep.   My first teacher was like that and seemed like she got ticked off because coming from playing 60 year of guitar I was asking questions that typically weren't asked.   I used to hang at the local music store and they had two piano teacher and I see every one of their students march in with the same books.    Local piano teachers coming in and other quantities of the same books every month or two.    Robotic teaching. 

[bill5]

Yeah it's pretty pathetic. I researched lessons at one point recently and people seemed more open to a more flexible, realistic approach, but never bit the bullet so can't say for sure.

[Julius D Majestic Studios]

Once my parents knew for sure that I was interested they got me into lessons... I already had my own keyboard by then and had been playing drums for years.  Also in the middle school band. 

 

But the guy was trying to teach me to read music and I felt like that wasn't what I wanted to do.  I wanted to PLAY.  My church alot of the musicians were playing by ear and I wanted to go that route. 

 

I took 1 lesson then told my mom that it wasn't what I wanted to learn so I never went back.  But I kept playing... Self taught and just watching people copying and using my ear.  

 

With that said, now I teach kids.  But I offer traditional music lessons but also ear training and theory so they can go either way.  Basically based on what the parent wants, what interest the child, and what it seems that they are capable of. 

 

[rogs]

I tried taking piano lessons when I was about 15.  By that time I had already learnt to read treble clef, as I already been learning to play clarinet.

I found it very difficult to learn to read bass clef.  I could read the music for the right hand, but not for the left!

As I already found I had a 'bit of an ear' for  playing without reading, I became very lazy, and just carried on 'playing by ear' as they say.

I always blamed my poor technique on not learning to read, but when I saw this young blind guy perform on TV the other night here in the UK  

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0d515hq

I realised lack of reading ability was not really the defining factor behind a good technique .. It was just laziness! 

[Legatoboy]

4 years of accordion lessons starting at 8 but there was a piano in the house also so I was back and forth on the 2 instruments but only lessions on the accordion in the early days.... then at 14 into rock and roll..  as a young adult piano lessons in one form or another from various teachers from the age of 20 onward pretty much until my last teacher passed 3 years ago. After some time he was more of a musical coach, they were jazz improvisation lessons...I started gigging rock actively at 15 in '69.