Our little pianist

Chloe has been showing interest in the piano for some time now.  Three Sundays ago as we sat together banging around on the keys, Chloe asked me to teach her a song.  I decided 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' was basic enough, and so we proceeded to walk through it.  She caught on much faster than I expected, and before the end of the evening she almost had it.  The following morning first thing she raced downstairs and proceeded to play the song with perfection.  Apparently a little break and a good night's sleep did the trick!  Here she is on that same morning showing off her newly acquired skill.

 

All week she anxiously awaited any opportunity to play for an audience.  She played for her neighborhood friends, for both of her Grandmas (over the phone), and of course boring old mom and dad.  By the following Sunday she could practically play the song in her sleep, and was clearly ready for more.  So, we moved on to 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat', which she caught onto almost instantly, followed by 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'.  Neil also brought to her attention that 'Twinkle, Twinkle' carries the same melody as 'ABCs', so now she proudly tells people that she can play 4 songs on the piano!

I took this video of her last week sometime.  The timing of the recording is actually really funny.  Why, may you ask?  Well, just listen in the background near the end.  That's right.  As Chloe's finishing up 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat', Ryan is finishing up some bathroom business, and is a little more than eager to announce it.

Please don't look too closely at Chloe's finger placement.  I didn't even realize until after watching this video that she was alternating between her right and left hand.  We've been working on that.  This week we're learning 'Happy Birthday to you', and I think 'Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree' isn't too far behind.  I've also got my eye on a children's piano book so that Chloe can begin familiarizing herself with the notes.  A few people I've talked to have told me that 5 is generally young to start piano lessons.  Maybe that's true, but Chloe wants it!  She begs me to sit with her and spends a solid hour each day playing by herself.  She is driven to learn piano, and I'd be a fool not to take advantage of that!

I have so much more I want to share about Chloe's recent interests and discoveries and will get to them soon.  But for now, I hope you enjoyed her little piano debut!