You need balance and alignment, curved bridge and no flat fingers to perform piano. Why can’t I fix my flat fingers? It forms a worse sound, and slower playing, my teacher always says. Since I couldn’t fix the habit I thought I couldn’t become the best. And, I knew there were older students that played better than me. One day, he piped up that I was his star pupil. I really was! He was the teacher who said so, so I really was! He always explains that he knows I can do it because I am a talented and young girl.
I have already performed an Etude #3 by Igor Stravinsky, and a Mazurka #3 by Chopin. Even though they are very stiff and steady pieces, they are very hard. Mainly all there is are repeats. Now in 2009 summertime he has assigned me to learn Butterfly by Edvard Grieg, The cat and mouse by Aaron Copland, Prelude and Fugue in c minor by J. S. Bach and one of the most famous, Sonata in c major by Mozart. These are very difficult pieces and if you hear them I hope you agree, but my teacher knows I can do it. That’s why he assigned them for me.
I can do almost anything you wish only if I try hard. But, the only thing I can’t do is octaves in my right hand ,yet. That’s almost impossible. And my teacher wants me to keep up my great work by using an example of how you get to the top of the mountain and you want to stay there. It’s very hard to keep others from taking your spot on the top and to stay there with hardly any air particles to breathe in. And he wants me to be able to learn through everything without his help, this time his example is to ride a bike. You start off with training wheels right? Well, my teacher is the training wheels. I start off with them but I want to turn corners. I won’t be able to turn with training wheels because they won’t let me. So I need to let go of my teacher and set off with two wheels.
He always says I have to have confidence in what I do. He always says I need to pay attention and think. His example is a three story building. You need to fill up all the stories with furniture. First story is thinking and then concentrating and last but not least, focus. Thinking is a light on the ceiling it lights up the whole room. Concentrating is a flashlight, it won’t light up a whole room, but it will light up your path. And focus is a laser, a very small and sharp light that some even can cut through things. I’ve filled up all of thinking, most of concentrating but not focus.
This teacher is like no other teacher because he teaches me, and has a whole cart of millions of pieces by all different composers. This teacher hardly has any pieces he doesn’t know and same with me. I hardly know anyone my age that can play like me. That’s why when it comes to piano; I’d like to be myself.