Lately I have been thinking about what it means to be a success as a parent.
With the little Pianofooler (Hayes) already 7 months old it’s become a real focus of mine.
I have actually studied this quite a bit (believe it or not)
And the thing I keep coming back to is something that Robert Lewis said.
“There are three things you must tell your child (out loud with your lips). If you fail at everything else, if you get these right, then you will be more successful than the majority of parents out there.”
Here they are (in no particular order)
1. I love you
2. I am proud of you
3. You’re good at
Number one is obvious.
Number 2 not so much. It seems there are a lot of people out there still trying to “make mom or dad proud” even as older adults!
and number 3…
… well thats the one that really sticks out to me.
It’s a big one.
It’s saying that as a parent, I have been watching, observed and tried to help you figure out what you are naturally bent to do in life. What you are naturally good at, what lights you up even when you don’t know it. This is the one that helps the kid feel like he is in his flow. It reaffirms that he is on the right track. And hopefully this follows them for the rest of their life into vocation that really is a good fit for their “natural bent”.
It’s not about participation awards.
It’s not about feel good fake affirmation.
It’s about truth in who they are and letting them know. It’s about giving a little direction that will serve them the rest of their life.
Traditional piano lessons sometimes don’t recognize that maybe this way is not a good fit for your natural bent.
Thats where the Layer Method of Piano comes in. We teach those who don’t necessarily learn well the way traditional teaching teaches.
And we do it step by step. So you can play by ear with both hands, songs you love and do it for the rest of your life. Not having to re-learn something every time you sit down at the piano.
And as your piano parent I am here to tell you that I love you, that I am proud of you and that you’re good at the piano…but we can always get better.
Starting by signing up here:
