Nov
2
2012

You learn, I learn. You no learn, I won’t too..

It has been 6-7 months now since Ethan first learned how to play the piano. Throughout these period, I have been able to keep up with the lessons and guide him in the absence of his piano teacher. Then slowly, he starts to be better than me, reading piano notes more fluently while I still struggle trying to recognize those notes. However, together, Ethan and I made good progress. He always makes sure that I proceed together with him. But lately, I have been lagging behind. I struggled as his piano pieces require him to play more with both hands together.

After giving so much effort, I will learn to read the notes of that particular piece BUT I won’t be able to play as my brain and my hands just won’t coordinate with each other! >_<

And then I see Ethan slowly declining. He is not progressing as usual anymore. Previously he can breeze through 2-3 songs per week but for the past two weeks his teacher has been coaching him on the same two songs and he’ll just stop at that. He doesn’t want to play those songs during practice and prefers to play the old songs.

I finally questioned him and am surprised at his answer. He said he does not want to go further because I have not mastered those TWO songs. He said he wants to wait for ME to be able to play them then we shall proceed together!

I was dumb-founded. I’m an OLD LADY! How am I supposed to keep up with him? I only started learning the piano at this over-ripe age of mine, how-lah?!

This reminds me of the movie I Am Sam.

I Am Sam starring Sean Penn as Sam Dawson, a single father with a development disability and Dakota Fanning as Lucy, his inquisitive seven-year-old daughter Lucy following their abandonment by her mother.

Though Sam provides a loving and caring environment for precocious Lucy, she soon surpasses his mental ability. She becomes embarrassed to accept that she is more intellectually advanced than Sam. Lucy starts to limit/dampen her capabilities so that she does not surpass her Dad intellectually. Her action will only retard her mental growth in the long run as there is no way her Dad can keep up with her.

Now Ethan is deliberately slowing down to give me time to catch up! :(

I talked to Ethan the other day. To encourage him to go further and not wait for me. I told him his teacher will be disappointed in him if he shows no progress for more than 2 weeks. Reluctantly he played the song that he refused to practice and breezed through it!

This is that song. It may look easy but for an old lady like me, this is tough as hell!

I asked him today, will he proceed to the next song even if I did not manage to master this song? He answered, “Yes, but you MUST learn this song or I’ll just stop at that”

Don’t get me wrong here. He still runs to the piano and practice without being told. It’s just that refused to play new songs unless I keep up with him. Somebody, anybody, please help ME! Why is my son behaving this way?

10 Comments + Add Comment

  • //

    Ahhhhh!!!! Can’t wait to go to KL…and then you can play to entertain me. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, eh? Wink! Wink! Hehehehehe!!!!

  • //

    oh.. he so ‘jaga’ you… :p touch touch..

  • //

    I like the way he shakes his head to the music! hehhe….so cute.. and mama, you better learn up too! :p

  • //

    LOL!!! Good reason to motivate Mummy!

  • //

    Wow he plays the drum and now the piano very talented. Hope he does not get ‘overloaded’ with the drums & the piano.

  • //

    *clap clap clap* Looks like he’s really enjoying himself while playing the piano. Ooohh… how economical, 2 ppl learning for the price of 1. hehehe It’s good that u’re learning together with him. Maybe explain to him that it’s not so ez for adults to pick up such skills in such a short period of time (as compared to kids). Maybe the practical part he’s surpassed u, but I suppose theoretically, u’d be able to u’std n rmbr better than him? Just reassure him that altho u can’t play as well as he does, u can still help him if he doesn’t u’std the theory part. :)

  • //

    Lure him with rewards. Tell him it’s time you sit back and enjoy his playing, and whenever he plays well, he makes you happy… Psychology stuff, hopefully it works. It’s great that the child is musically inclined, makes practice relatively easier than knocking one’s head on the wall. There are a few parents who never learnt music in their whole life until the child’s music course, and they don’t play I think, hehehe… Already struggling with the theory apalah poor mommies have to play two hands somemore!

    Oh well, don’t fret too much. Ethan is such a lovely boy…

  • //

    wow wow wow… you really have a heavy influence over Ethan. Haha I guess you can’t run away this time xD MUST learn the song no matter what xD

  • //

    I can totally understand you. I am actually going to the piano lesson with my younger girl. I need to sit beside her for the lesson. She is doing fine. I was catching up well in the beginning like you mentioned. Then, after a while I was lost. I don’t think I can play any song at the moment. You are at least better than me, this older lady than you . Luckily my girls didn’t force me to learn all the songs they played.

  • //

    In my opinion, I believe this is good signs that Ethan is bonded to you. He treat you like his peers, do not wish that you will be left behind. He is such a considerate boy. But, don’t worry too much….slowly explain that to him if you can’t catch up. I think he is smart and will understand. Cheers… :)

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MeHome is where MY heart is.
I am a mother to two boys; Ethan and Ayden and a wife to Darling William. I'm a stay at home mum who blogs to break the monotony of life and to avoid feeling jaded. Would love to get to know all the Super Mommies and Daddies and Babies or Singles out there with the hope that we can learn more from each other. Most of all, I am a happy person, and I hope YOU are too.

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