This year I have started a new piano student who happens to be 80 years old. This lovely lady has always been interested in music and has sung in various choirs over the years. She has also toyed with the idea of learning to play the piano for quite some years and she has finally taken the plunge this year.
Like the rest of us, we procrastinate and this lovely lady has procrastinated in starting piano lessons. What finally got her moving is that a few years ago she had a stroke and realized that there was more living she wanted to do and that she didn’t want to allow her brain to just rot. She doesn’t want to end up with dementia and quite rightly thinks that learning to play the piano can help keep her brain active, so she doesn’t end up with dementia (or at the very least, delay the onset of dementia), so her starting place is finally learning to play the piano.
Let me just state here that I am no expert on the topic of strokes, however, I am aware that because strokes physically happen in the brain, there can be physical damage can remain and therefore have an impact on a person’s life. I am finding that even though she is quite an intellectual lady, I literally have to break tasks down for her to practice because of her stroke. This is something that is new for me as a teacher and I am excited and intrigued about how this experience will influence my teaching methods generally.
Despite having to make accommodations for her, she is still making above average progress, compared with all my other students (even the kids). Her progress is more than just satisfactory and she tells me that she is enjoying her lessons and enjoying her practice.
Teaching this lady is delightful. Both of us enjoy her piano lessons and even though she thinks that she is learning quite slowly, I am here to tell you that the progress she has made so far, has been quite quick.
Even if she was making slow progress, would it really matter? I don’t actually think so. I believe that if a person is enjoying their piano lessons and they are making some progress, then that is all that really matters.
With regards to whether it is worth my time to spend working with this 80 year old, it is definitely worth my time because I spend some time each week with an interesting lady and through teaching her, I am considering different ways I can impart the same information and having the experience of exploring different ways to teach can only make me a better piano teacher to all of my students.