First, tonight I finished a set of four choral responses for Easter Day. They're two part, so they should be accessible by our choir at church, and should add a nice touch to Easter service.
Now, as for the title of the post ... I taught a piano lesson tonight with a seventh grader. I just picked him up a few months ago when his former teacher left to move to Florida permanently. Well, I knew he was a fabulous pianist, but the strides this student has taken in the past several months are just astounding, and next to none of his improvement has anything to do with my teaching.
We started before the first of the year doing some duets, and he took to them fabulously. I've always had fun playing duets, but to see a student having just as much fun -- and providing me with the sort of enjoyment I don't usually experience playing with students -- was just warming to my heart.
Then came jazz.
He had mentioned offhandedly to his mom that he might like to try some jazz, but then only when she pressured him during lesson did he actually admit it to me. Well, he's been working on some jazz pieces for a few months, and what I heard tonight ... my friends, this is what making music and teaching it are all about. He improvized with it, changed it up, and all of it in the sort of way I'd expect someone far older and more musically mature to do.
Rarely does a student stop playing a piece and leave me not just speechless, but flabbergasted. Finding myself as such this evening was the highlight of the past several weeks for me. I can only imagine what he has in store for me in the future.
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