Dad the Tyrant

We had a bit of a dilemma with piano, and I had to step in be a bit of a tyrant. Sometimes a dad has a flex a little muscle, even if he loses points on the popularity scale. In the past, A has picked up on assorted endeavors and done fairly well at them. Certain things come naturally to her and she doesn’t have to expend a lot of effort to do them. In certain areas she has become proficient, and in others, it’s just a passing fancy that fizzles out and disappears into the ether.

We don’t want to force her to be something she doesn’t want to be, but we also don’t want her to quit just because it’s more of a challenge and requires her to sweat a little, especially when the end result is rewarding.

We’ve experienced this in the past with drama. She enjoyed the preliminary classes that were just fun and make believe, but when it came to learning her lines and performing, it became more of a job. Her teachers said she did a good job, in their words, “She is able to reach deep inside herself when she performs,” and they encouraged us to enroll her, and N as well, in the ensemble group. It just wasn’t as fun as being silly, and she said she didn’t want to continue. However, we felt that she would enjoy performing, it’s just that it would require some effort and overcoming some challenges. Plus, we thought the drama crowd would suit her. Bear in mind, the goal was not for her to be an actor, but simply not to quit when the going got tough.

In the end, the drama group folded, so it was not an issue. Bummer. Now that she’s in piano, it’s not as laid back and easy as guitar, and requires her to practice more and challenge herself more. Again, not as fun as just playing and being silly, and maybe doesn’t come to her as easy, but we don’t want her to quit because of that. As long as she doesn’t loathe and hate it, we’re going to encourage her to stick with it. Plus, she really likes her teacher, JB, and in the end, piano is a nice instrument. She doesn’t have to be Van Cliburn, if anything, I don’t want her to be, that guy had some serious issues.

We’ll see where this one goes. I think a piano might be in our future. We’ve had several offers for a free one, it’s just a question of getting R to agree to it.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Rachel Israel for the pic.