Piano Picnic

Sunday was our annual piano studio picnic. It's a nice laid back approach to performing and gives the kids a chance to play in a very non-organized mostly stress free atmosphere. We rent a picnic shelter at the local park and set up two of our digital pianos and amps for the guitars. We get the grills going and then the students and there families show up when it's convenient for them (between 11:00 and 4:00). Everyone brings food and drinks and the kids bring their music and we get to play songs and listen to the guitars jam out and generally everyone has a good time.

The weather this year was colder than I would have liked ( 57 degrees) and it rained while we were setting up, but coffee and hot chocolate kept us going, and we took turns running out into the sun to get warm when it finally made an appearance. On the way home I had to turn on the heat in my Jeep full blast to stop my teeth from ch-ch-chattering.

It's cute how some of the kids don't want to play when they first get there, but they do... and they have such a great time, that they put their name on the list again, and again, and again! I also like that I get to accompany some of the guitar kids on piano. It's fun to play with other musicians, even when they aren't that good. That's what the picnic is for really, to get the students together to play with other kids and realize that music is FUN! This year we did 12 bar blues ensembles and Heart and Soul duets. The kids had a blast and so did I.

I love my job and that I'm teaching others to love music as much as I do. It's great having a career that makes me feel like I'm making a positive difference in the world. It's moments like these that make me realize quiting my old, high paying, absolutely emotionally degrading corporate job to do anything else was the best decision of my life. At the time I didn't know where I was going, or what I was going to do, but it all worked out in the end. As my dad says, "Everything happens for a reason..."