Skip to main content

Piano Teacher

I was about 12 years old when my parents bought a piano. It was an old extra tall upright and I could not have been happier. During my elementary school years I would sit and listen to the pianists play during the talent shows, wishing I could do that too.  Shortly after making the piano purchase my mom began taking piano lessons from a friend, Loris Hayes. Loris also was the accompanist to a women's quartet that my mom sang with. The only time my mom could find time to practice was after we children had gone to bed;I would hear her practice and wanted to learn as well. 

I had been babysitting for a few families for a couple of years by then. I can't imagine hiring a ten year old to babysit, but I guess I was mature and responsible for my age. Or the neighbors were hard up for cheap labor. I choose to believe the first explanation.  I decided that I would use my hard earned $1.00 an hour wage to pay for myself to take piano lessons. Money was tight while I was growing up and if I wanted lessons I knew I would have to pay for them. 

Because my mom was already taking lessons, my lessons cost $4.00/half hour. This was a dollar discount for a second family member taking from Sister Hayes. For every four hours of babysitting I was able to procure the necessary payment. I went every week for 3-4 school years. Loris was kind and undemanding. I used the same piano books that my mom used. I didn't learn the names of the notes right away, I just memorized where the note was in the staff in relationship to the keyboard without knowing their names. When Loris figured this out she began using flash cards to quiz me and taught me the traditional "Every Good Boy Does Fine," and All Cows Eat Grass" statements for the spaces and lines of the treble clef. She didn't teach me very much theory, she knew it for sure. Nor did she require memorization. I don't blame her, but I wish I were better at both. She did gently teach me to play. I will forever be grateful to her for this. 

I am not very good now, but I can play a melody when I need to learn a singing part and play most of the Hymns with a bit of practice now. I enjoy sitting at the piano and playing from time to time and wish I would make more time to do it. I have never had a piano playing calling, but I have filled in at church from time to time in Relief Society or Primary and have accompanied my mom and sisters on occasion.

In addition to being a kind piano teacher, Loris was one of mine and my mom's favorite accompanists. She was a skilled player and could sight read almost anything you put in front of her. She also listened to us and followed us perfectly. I loved singing when she was at the piano. She played the piano for a women's chorus, The Musettes, in Springville for many years. I recently learned that she played the organ in her LDS ward for 50 years. 

Three weeks ago my mom called to tell me this fact that was previously unknown to me, and to also tell me that her eyesight has been failing for some time and that she had just asked to be released from that calling. I am sure it was with a somewhat heavy heart that she did. Piano and organ playing is in her blood and it shows. She no doubt blessed the lives of hundreds of people throughout her years of playing. She certainly blessed mine. My heart is full of gratitude to her now as I am writing this. I hope she knows this. I hope she finds joy in her musical memories and can continue to play in her home. She is aging and will some day return to the One who gave her this gift. I am sure the angels will welcome her and be the new beneficiaries of her ability. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Responsibilities of the Oldest and Youngest

I began this 9/25/15. I am going to publish it as is. I am sure I had a story for each about each of my children, but I only made it to two. My heart is full of love and joy for the blessing my children are to me. Each one of them are working through their own set of challenges and are blossoming. I came home from work yesterday to find that Spencer had fixed the car. On his own. It was making a weird noise before he left school and he and a friend checked it out and determined that it was an easy fix and that he could drive home with it the way it was, but it should not be driven more than that until it was repaired. He went to the auto parts store and purchased the part and fixed it. Just like that. Wow! How awesome that he is developing the skills and taking the initiative to be responsible for the maintenance of the car he gets to drive. Notice I didn't say "his" car even though he likes to think of it as that. I was so impressed and proud of him for doing that...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sweet Sarah

My baby has the first birthday of the year. She turned the lucky number 7 on April 3. She could not have been more excited! We celebrated with a rainy BBQ and ice cream pie with family along with games with more ice cream pie with her friends. She recently learned how to ride a two wheeled bike without training wheels and her birthday wish was for a new helmet which Kevin and Christine delivered. She is still easy to please and we had fun parties with her. I am so grateful that she is a part of my life. She has taught me more about expressing love than anyone else. I am the Primary chorister and I have been observing the children lately, especially the younger ones. They are able to express their love freely; they give hugs and smiles to their teachers and anyone else who makes them happy. They sit on their laps and expect to be loved back. The older they get the less easy it is for them to express love. Sarah is not the youngest in Primary any more, but she is sti...
Post a Comment
Read more

Oh the Irony

So yesterday I ranted about the expectations for St. Patrick's Day being too high.  And After Estelle had spend hours preparing to catch a leprechaun and lying awake the night before with equal parts excitement and worry about the leprechaun coming she decided when I was putting her and Sarah to bed to announce to the world, ie Sarah, that there were no such things as leprechauns, the Easter Bunny, the tooth fairy...etc., etc., etc. I have actually been expecting to have a conversation about that with her for months, but she always seems to pull herself back into the believing crowd. I am fine with whatever she chooses, I just want to let Sarah discover for herself without the blatant telling from her sister. I quieted her as quickly as I could and told her that we would talk about it later, meaning when Sarah was asleep and we could slip out of the room unnoticed. She has been questioning since long before last Christmas, but she always tells me she believ...
1 comment
Read more