You are so Going to Lose!
Stagnant. Stalled. Halted. At an impasse. Distracted. Amotivated. Indifferent. She just won’t do it! I don’t want to. I’m not going to! These are just a few of the words or phrases that I could use to describe the current state of Zoë’s piano lessons. It would appear that as the temperatures rise outside her willingness to apply energy towards practice inversely falls. Two weeks in a row she has failed to meet her contracted practice commitment of 90 minutes. (That’s a week people, not a day!) My frustration level is at an all time high.
Pressed for solutions, I expressed my concerns to my wife. Make it fun she said, otherwise she’s going to hate it and we’ll lose her forever. No easy task, mind you because right now, I’m not having fun. I’m still looking for ideas (begging really.) But this is what we did today and she really seemed to have fun…..again.
A little contest Zoë. You pick the song. I play it first, then you play it. We’ll see who can play it better. OK?
Well, OK, Dad…..You are so going to lose!
(Disclaimer: It should be noted at this point that the extent of my piano knowledge and playing ability spans the exact amount of time that Zoë has been taking lessons.) Catwalk was the first selection. I thought I had done a decent job. She smiled at me and played it better.
Dalmations, she called next. Again, I thought my effort was decent, worthy of competition. When I had finished she asked if that was my warm-up and was I ready to play it for real. Again, she played it better. I love you, Daddy.
Just call the next song!
Creepy Crocodile. She openly laughed at me before I had finished. Dad, are you really trying she said mocking me as I wiped the sweat from my brow and discretely a tear from my eye. She played it better. I was being handed my hat by a seven year old.
And so it went. Long, Long Ago. Better. Claire de Lune. Better. I didn’t even try Chant Arabe or Allegretto I. But she did and performed beautifully. I was demoralized. I thought I could get one better, just one. One of the easy ones. BUT NO! The kid pummeled me. You know what, though. She practiced. And she had fun.
Who’s playing who now, you little imp?!
Are we not going to get mp3 files?
That is hilarious. Gotta a couple imps around my house too.
Sounds like you’re the one whose needing lessons…. J/K
Good for you for finding a way to make it fun!
Practice is always something the kids dread. One day however they will look back and wonder why they did not practice..
LOVE Claire de Lune…and I’m with Dan. No mp3?
Lord man, I’ve been demoralized here! That’s just salt in the wounds.
I definitely took one for the team.
It was bad. I told her I was going to practice and get her next time. She looked at me, cocked her head to the side and said, “Dad, you’re not that good.”
I kick myself almost daily for not learning an instrument.
Let the wounds heal up a bit, I’m still sore!
We bought an old piano and it’s in the garage. We need some lessons.
We actually paid more to have our piano tuned than we paid for the piano.
Haha – this post makes me smile. I wish my parents had made it fun. I wish my parents would’ve said no when I wanted to quit. Keep it up!
I wish my mom had encouraged me to take up an instrument. She never discouraged it but she never encouraged either.