Piano Tide

At least once a year for the past ten years, I've asked my oldest son, "Would you consider taking piano lessons?" He wouldn't. My daughter takes lessons. My three younger sons have taken 'em - the next-to-smallest one is on a hiatus right now. The five-year-old takes Suzuki piano.

One of the first bits of our Boulder infrastructure that got put in place when we got here was piano lessons. Three of our kids studied with Lisa. She is a great player and a very well-known teacher in town. Her style is cool, friendly. The kids took lessons for years. This year, our 12-year-old decided he wanted to focus on jazz and rock. I was surprised when Lisa said "You should switch teachers. Here is Rebecca's number." Off went the 12-year-old, to Rebecca. Soon after, my next-to-youngest son, the ten-year-old, decided he was through. My daughter had thrown in the towel with piano lessons after eighth grade.

Here is the miracle: Rebecca got everybody revved up. The little one. My daughter, who plays pop songs and sings along. My ten-year-old is on the fence, but the amazing thing is that my fifteen-year-old son, who hasn't had one piano lesson ever, says he will try it. One year, he says. Here are my terms: a Wii game, a PS3 game and some other game, who knows what. I figure it's about a $100 bribe. That doesn't seem so bad to me. It's a half-hour lesson once a week for a year, plus practicing. I think he's impressed that his little brother can play all his favorite rock songs.

Four kids in piano lessons? That's a lot of driving. It's worth it. The ten-year-old may waver if his big brother jumps into the pool. I have no demands for these kids. I don't force them into activities. I just wanted them to do music, and all of them do. That's a gift. Even the ten-year-old, who no longer takes lessons, sings with me. His bribe is a Bionicle - can't complain about that.