Our piano player

Last night Madolyn had her very first piano recital.  Last October, she began taking piano lessons with our local piano expert, Diane...who is celebrating her 50th year of teaching!

Diane assisting with page turning.

Before we went into the church, Madolyn gave me a quick lesson on how to video with her I-phone.  I don't have an I-phone and am technologically challenged at times, but this looked simple enough.  "Mom, it is so simple."  Yes.  Of course, it is.  It is Mad's turn and Jay nudges me to get her phone.  I grab it and we decide Jay has a clearer view, and then we try to figure out what to do...

Of course, we couldn't...and we're giggling as quietly as possible all the while our daughter is playing her piece.  We finally get it going, just missing the first page of her song.  Good grief.  It is so simple, she says.

As I sat there, I couldn't help but get that knot in my throat and those dang tears in my eyes...Grandma Great would have been so proud.

Madolyn has wanted to take piano lessons for a couple years, but we didn't have a piano.  I knew eventually I would receive Grandma Great's piano, but until then, we would just wait.  She took guitar lessons and then lost interest so I was okay with waiting a while.  We got the piano a year or so before Grandma passed away because her basement kept having water problems and we were all afraid it would damage the piano.

We bought some beginner books for the piano and some stickers to put on the keys to help in the learning process (which I'm sure is a big no-no) and Madolyn monkeyed around on it a little bit, but we didn't quite see the interest yet...so we waited some more.

Last fall about a month before Grandma got really bad she asked me, completely out of the blue, if Madolyn was taking piano lessons yet.  I said no, and she seemed disappointed.  It wasn't a week later that Madolyn asked if she could start with the piano lessons, also completely out of the blue.  We decided that maybe it was time to give it a try.

She began in October and has hardly missed a week of lessons.  She practices consistently and without us having to force her, which is huge in my mind.  When I took lessons long ago, I had to be forced to practice, or at least that is how I remember it.  I was probably in the 3rd or 4th grade and I did not commit to it at all.  I'm so bummed now that I didn't take it seriously back then.  Of course, I have big plans to some day take lessons again.

Way back when, Grandma Great could only play her piano when Grandpa was outside.  For some reason, he hated hearing the piano.  I just can't imagine that, especially from someone who was musically inclined like he was.  Maybe he just didn't like her choice of music, I don't know.  She was someone who played a pretty strong piano.  By that I mean, she struck those keys hard.  As I'm writing this, I keep wanting to use the term "pounding" on the piano and it is making me laugh...because she would always tell us kids not to pound on the piano.  In my mind, she pounded on the piano!

The piano is in the basement at our house and we have no door.  So you can't help but hear Mad when she's practicing.  But I LOVE it.  Jay doesn't mind too much...although over the past few months, this recital piece has certainly been played to death.  It will be nice when different songs are coming over the airwaves :)  Oh, and we can add Frozen's theme to that too...we've heard it plenty also!  The only time I have to tell her to knock it off is if Lane is in bed.

Of course, I'm bias, but I really am amazed at how well Madolyn has progressed with her playing and how committed she seems to it.  The recital started with some younger kids and kind of moved on to students who were a little more advanced.  A couple girls after Madolyn were very good.  And the finale was a piece played by a young lady from Casey I have had the pleasure of knowing from church camp.  It was absolutely beautiful and unbelievable all at the same time.  I took one look at the pages on her right and couldn't understand how someone could read it or follow it!  She obviously has played for a while and it was a good motivator for Mad.

For Madolyn's birthday she has requested piano books of Disney songs.  I thought that was a pretty good idea, and since she will be turning 14 in a few weeks, I better start looking.  Won't Jay love this?  :)