The piano: Squeezed out of the house?
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The Home section’s May 16 cover story and video on the decline of the home piano has struck a chord (I know, sorry) with readers, particularly parents. Ruth Honer of Santa Ana wrote to say that she was the ‘mean mom’ who made each of her three kids take at least five years of music lessons. One daughter chose the harp, her son picked alto saxophone, and a younger daughter selected piano. Music taught all three of them life lessons, Honer said. ‘They have grace under pressure; they know that when mistakes happen, just go to the next note, as we do in life.’
That’s Isaac Wilson, above, a 15-year-old student at the Colburn School in downtown L.A. He wants to be a professional jazz musician, and his Yamaha sits just steps from his bed, so he can play right before he goes to sleep and as soon as he wakes up.
Check out Times staff writer Mary MacVean’s story, or jump to more reader comments.
From Allison Banks Herbert of Dana Point:
To my mother’s dismay, the only furniture in our living room is a piano and an electronic keyboard (Santa’s delivery). We searched high and low for a piano teacher who would inspire the girls (8 and 6) and went through four teachers before we struck gold. Because they have a lot of activities (too many) and we don’t expect them to master the instrument overnight, but develop a love and respect for music and music composition, they are expected to practice only 15 minutes a day. They do have homework! Practicing her songs is usually the first thing that our older daughter does after she gets ready for school in the morning and the first thing our younger daughter does when she gets in the door after school. To be honest, I don’t keep track of the time they spend on the piano. But if it occurs to me that I haven’t been hearing the 8-year old singing while playing her songs and the little one doing her scales, then I threaten to stop the lessons! They love their teacher so much that they would rather stop their beloved sports before that happens. My husband and I both took lessons as children, but stopped because we despised our teachers. We feel that it’s not the piano that’s out of date, but the way that many teachers teach their lessons.
From Kent Adamson:
About 10 years ago, we bought a Steinway. Our piano never has been, nor will it ever be, a mere piece of furniture. It has enhanced our life’s experience. Our kids and their friends have embraced the instrument through their childhoods, teen years and into their young adult years. When my son, Dain, comes home from Cal Berkeley, he immediately heads for the Steinway. Today, the very day your article was published, several of my daughter Joelle’s San Clemente high school friends gathered in our home, employing the piano, guitars, vocals and recording equipment as they worked to put together a musical film (an entry into a spring high school film festival). I cannot emphasize enough the life enrichment that has been engendered by an age-old instrument that in no way should ever be considered a mere decoration or symbol of affluence.
-- Craig Nakano