Piano - a musical instrument classified as a struck chordophone, invented in
1709 with a hammer mechanism and keys. The inventor’s name was Bartolomeo
Cristofori, an Italian from Padua who lived in the 18th century. His invention
has its roots in the clavichord and, partially, the harpsichord. In a modern
piano, the strings are cross-strung on a metal board in threes for high and mid
sounds and in twos for the low sounds. Single strings are responsible for
producing the lowest tones.
I have been a professional piano tuner for decades, but I still remember well a
time when I was a young piano player, knowing nothing at all about tuning. I
only knew that to satisfy my ears my piano needed to be tuned about four times a
year, with the change of the seasons, and that my parents could only afford to
pay for one tuning a year. In a recent popular movie, a teenaged wizard reminds
his friends that every skilled person, even the greatest, started out as a
beginner. As long as you have no prohibitive physical limitations, you can
learn, with time, study, and practice, to do anything yourself.
A short check lists of Do's and Don'ts for Parents who students are beginning
piano lessons.
Make clear to your child at the outset of lessons, in an enthusiastic manner,
that music training is a long term process, just like school, but with many high
points of pleasure along the way.
Your child has his own unique pace, so avoid comparing him to siblings or
neighbors’ children who may appear to be playing better than he. Anticipate “ups
and downs” in his attitude and progress, along with a number of “growing pain”
periods.
Seriously contemplate how to help your child. Knowing when to help, when to be
supportive, and when to withdraw to encourage him to help himself, is a parental
art in itself.
