Japan Part 1: Piano

Japan Part 1: Piano

Music is a huge part of my life. My brother is in a band. I'm always singing, and of course I do a lot of work with Sam's Fans. My exposure to music started when I was in kindergarten.

My “sisters” had a piano in their house. When they got old enough,  they started taking lessons. Because our families were so close at the time, and because I wanted to do everything they were doing, I asked my mom if I could take lessons from the same person. My parents agreed, and Ryan and I started taking lessons. 

The teacher and I did not necessarily see eye to eye. I didn't really have long attention span. It definitely wasn't long enough to actually take time to practice. Every single week, I wouldn't practice enough, and she would become livid. She would roll up my music theory book, hit me on the head with it and yell, “Shame on you!” This woman did something amazing, she almost single-handedly killed music for me. 

Fortunately, I didn't have to wait for Cousin Simple or Sam's Fans for music to come back into my life. My “sisters” had gotten a new piano teacher. Her name was Renee. Renee is from Japan and she's one of the most talented pianist I've ever met. The best part was that she had baby girls, and my “sisters” would watch them for discounted lessons. When my “sisters” and I started hanging out again, they convinced me to take lessons from Renee. 

I would help my “sisters” watch the kids, mostly by being their constant entertainment. Over the years my “sisters” and I started to consider those two kids like part of our family. That's not even to mention Renee. Let me just explain how awesome of a person she is. 

One of the first things I loved about her is when it came to lessons with Renee she would ask me what songs I wanted to learn, as opposed to just going through some book. Secondly once I learned a song, she let me arrange a new version of the song. The icing on the cake though was her last Christmas recital.

When I was a kid…who am I kidding, I'm still a big fan of Doctor Seuss!!! My favorite character that he created is the Grinch. Around the same time we were trying to plan what songs I would play for the Christmas recital, we found out that Renee and her family would be moving back to Japan in 2 months. I wanted to do something big…you know, send her off with a bang. So I asked her if I can play “You're Mean One.” Of course she said yes, but then I took it a step further. I asked her if it would be okay, if I dressed in costume as the Grinch… She said yes! 

I was scheduled to perform last and I was giddy with excitement. About three people before I was supposed to perform, I went to the bathroom and changed into my costume… When my name was called, I walked in and I've never been more confident in my entire life. The audience loved it! The recital was amazing to me! Renee was an incredible piano teacher, and friend, and I would not be where I am today, both creatively or confidence-wise, if it wasn't for her.

To be Continued...