was last week.
kj, myla, and kiana all take lessons from the most charming woman in our neighborhood, maisa simpson. maisa was raised as a professional piano player in europe and currently chaperone’s the young ambassadors at byu.
our favorite characteristic about maisa, is her kind, patient, infectious love for the piano.
i am a very chill piano momma. i require very little practice time from my kids. i hated practicing the piano as a kid, and yet i still wish i would have taken lessons longer than i did.
i assume my kids are going to feel just about the same as i did. i also assume that if they go to a lesson for 30 minutes every week…in ten years, they’ll know a decent amount about the piano and be decent players.
and so far, it’s a very functional piano plan for our family.
our kids adore their teacher.
they never complain.
and everyone is improving, every year!
this year, kj played his ‘warm-up on C’ for the recital. he is maisa’s youngest student {i figured if he could master the x-box 360 on the level he has, he could also play piano!}
kj was the very first student to play out of twenty-five in the recital! kj had his entire warm-up memorized. my favorite part about what he played wasn’t even his cute little warm-up. it was how confident he was going up to perform, and how proud of himself he was as soon as he finished!
myla was sooooo nervous! right up until her turn she was whispering to me,
“mom, i don’t want to go up there!”
but she did! and she did so good! she played, “little indian lance” which was totally snazzy and totally myla.
kiana played “argentina” and did great! i thought she even looked the ‘argentine’ part with her little side-bun & flower! {there’s a good chance she planned that.} kiana really progressed this year, and it’s amazing how much better she is than me! her songs have way more chords than i could ever play!
that second picture of kj is adorable! he looks so proud of himself!
After Myla finished I said… "You did so good baby… I didn't hear even one mistake." She said smugly, "That's because I played it perfectly."
After Kiana's performance she just wanted to be sure that she and Reagan caught each other's eyes… not interested in dad's evaluation.
After KJ's performance he simply said, "Dad, can I play on your iPhone now." 🙂
Way to go, kiddos! Piano is one of those things that is so boring to practice but SO cool if you know how to do it well!
Ah, that is so great! I, like you, wish I hadn't given it up. My Mom tried to tell me I would regret it and encouraged me to continue, but…who wants to listen to their crazy Mom when they're 15? Well, this girl wishes she had! 🙂
Keep going, Rhodes kids, you'll be glad that you did!
i had no idea that they played! how awesome! i played for many, many years. i call myself a closet piano player because secretly i don't want to get a church calling playing the piano. 😉
oh how i love piano players! I bet they were fabulous tonight!
I love dusty's comment about what Kj said.. that is classic!
their is nothing sexier than a man who plays the piano. keep it up KJ!!