Jackson is taking Piano Lessons!

Jackson had his first piano lesson this weekend, and he LOVED it!. We enrolled him in the Suzuki Music Academy here in Houston, and he will have four half hour private lessons a month.

We have been waiting to put him in lessons for years now. To be honest, other than Jackson's apparent love for music, the biggest reason we put him in lessons is because Jack's mother, Evelyn (May God rest her soul), wanted more than anything for Jackson to learn how to play the piano, and in the end that became her last wish. After she passed, we inherited her piano. Jackson has always loved to pick at the keys, and create his own songs to put on 'shows' for anyone who will listen. I have to admit that it is actually quite soothing to listen to him play. He doesn't just bang at the keys, as a matter of fact, he never did. He is very meticulous and deliberate when he plays - and is very much a perfectionist.

My Mother came with us to his first lesson, and she and I both wanted to stay in the room to observe. I could tell that our presence was distracting Jackson's focus from his instructor, so I suggested that Mom and I leave the room. We waited in the lobby for about 20 minutes. After his lesson was over, he came skipping down the hallway with a HUGE smile plastered to his face! He was so excited, and said that he had a lot of fun learning the keys.

His instructor is Mariblanca De Pujadas, and she has quite the resume! Apparently, she was a child prodigy at the age of two, and began performing as a soloist, touring several countries in South America before the age of five!!! She studied with many prestigious master teachers, and eventually did her post-graduate work at Julliard School of Music in New York. She has over 35 years of teaching experience, and her students have been winners in many competitions and have also performed as soloists with symphony orchestras.

During the private lessons, students of an early age are taught the value of reading music, understanding note values and music theory to be able to understand the structure of music. Also, the student develops strong rhythmic skills as well as good sight reading skills. As the young student advances, he is introduced to the basics of music by learning scales, arpeggios and cadences for the development of technique and musicianship. Ear training is also emphasized as its an important tool to learn to recognize musical tones, chords and rhythmic dictation among other valuable things.

I am going to the store this afternoon to try and get "Key Cards" that identify each of the white keys on the piano so it will make it easier for Jackson to learn each key. If not, I'm not opposed to getting little stick-on letters to label each key, lol!