Ode to Joy

Colin started taking piano lessons in November, and he really seems to enjoy them so far. His school has a nice after-school program with several teachers, covering various instruments, and he goes once a week for 30 minutes. We purchased a little keyboard for him to use for practice at home, as we weren't sure how interested he would be or how long it would last. Of course, he may decide next week that he hates it, but so far, he is really excited.

He arrived home from school on Wednesday, and he had his music class that day (the one that is part of the regualar curriculum, not the piano class). He was all excited because they had learned a new note that day, eighth notes. For those of you drawing a blank on this one, these are the ones that are attached together at the top with a little bridge going across two notes. In fact, I had to look up the translation for it online, as he only knew the term in Italian!

Anyway, he was excited about learning a new note, and he wanted to show me what they look like, so he got a piece of paper, drew a musical staff, and drew a series of eighth notes. Then he got into it, and drew a bunch of other notes, and said, "Mom, I made a song! I'm going upstairs to play it!" He may be a few years behind Beethoven, but I was still very proud.

This afternoon we were practicing his piano lessons, doing the songs that his teacher had assigned as his weekly homework. And one of the songs that he was assigned was the first few bars of "Ode to Joy", using just one hand. I was telling him that this was one of the most famous songs in the history of music, and after we had finished, we put it on the stereo. We listened to it, and I was explaining to him that it started out a bit slower, with just the strings, but things got "happier" and the other instruments joined in. I was explaining that all of the instruments of the orchestra were playing the exact notes that he had just played upstairs and when it all came together, it sounded like this. He was fascinated, completely excited that he knew how to play this famous song. He spent the next 15 minutes running and dancing around that house, "singing" the notes. Ode to Joy, indeed.