Rian Loves the Piano

We got a piano a little over a year ago, but until recently Rian didn't seem very interested in it. At some point in the last month or two, he saw me playing and wanted to come sit next to me on the bench. In the past he had been content to just hit random keys and make some noise, but recently he started noticing that I wasn't just hitting random keys and there was a pattern to what I was doing.

His interest grew, and he began watching my fingers more closely. He expressed interest in learning some actual tunes, so I showed him how to play what I believe was the first song that I learned on the piano. If I recall correctly, my mom showed me how to play this song at a school or church we were cleaning that happened to have a piano in one of the rooms.

I don't even know the name of the song. In fact, I don't even know if it's a real song. But I know how to play it, and so I showed Rian how he could use his knuckles to play the 3 black keys from top to bottom, then Eb twice, repeat, then the 3 black keys from bottom to top, then C#, repeat, etc. It took a little while to get the pattern right in his head and to train those little hands how to hit the keys so they go in the right order, but after a few tries he had it. Instantly, he was hooked.

Since then, he has mastered that first song I showed him and has requested that I teach him how to play the ABC's, Fur Elise, and of course, a Car's song (he's still waiting for me to teach him one of those). Sometimes when he is thinking about it, usually right after we get done playing, he'll sing that first tune he learned and play it on an imaginary piano in front of him. He gets pretty serious when he plays, and if I spend too much time showing him how to play, he'll insist, "ok, Rian's turn." This usually means I need to back off and just let him play (I'm usually barking at him like a drill sergeant - I think it's the best way to teach).

I took some video of him playing a couple weeks ago, but I don't think my computer is capable of editing the video right now, so that's going to have to wait until I get a new computer. This one has lasted me quite a while. I initially bought the parts about 4 years ago, so I think I'm about due for a new one. :)