Piano Pedawhat?

All good things must come to an end, and Piano Pedagogy class is no exception. We spent two weeks on the beautiful Verity campus, managing to meet almost all of the fifty students who live there, working on getting their BA in 18 months.

We fit in games of ping pong, foosball, volleyball, Rook, catchphrase, and Dutch Blitz, and walked around the building for exercise countless times.

We attended chapel every morning and joined the students in prayer and praise on Sunday nights.

We got to attend an Indianapolis Symphony Concert centered in the absolutely gorgeous Monument Circle.

But what we were really there for was learning how to teach piano excellently. With Mrs. Baldridge as our guide and fabulous teacher, we spent five hours in class every day and the same amount in study. We read through a textbook on Piano Pedagogy, evaluated all major piano methods, studied the recent history and development of pedagogy, addressed the business aspects of a piano studio, learned the different learning styles of students (and teachers!), studied the four periods of classical music, learned how to teach classical music to all levels of students, and memorized the major composers of each period and their piano works that are most important.

Of course, that's not all we did! We had teaching plans and method evaluations to fill out, reports to write, studio policies to revise, teaching philosophies to mull over, midterms to cram for, and finals to stress over. And, in there somewhere, we had playing. Lots and lots of playing. Every day, all eight students in our class trooped over into the construction zone of the campus, where the practice pianos were located (coincidence? I think not!). With four pianos going at once, the sound was something akin to a twentieth century polytonal composition, and the workers enjoyed teasing us about the beautiful music we made. Every morning of the second week, we had master classes with Mrs. Baldridge, learning not only how to better teach the piece to our students, but also how to master the technique for our own playing.

It was a blessing to go, and we couldn't have asked for a better class or teacher. We got to meet up with five old friends from the Midwest and East, and we were able to visit the Creation Museum! However, as always, it was simply marvelous to get on the plane home.

"Visiting or going home?" Asked the scientist headed for Kenya and funded by the Gates Foundation to study the diseases of plants.

"Oh--I'm going home!" I replied proudly.

And as the beautiful Cascades came into view and we swooped over the Pudget Sound to land safely in the Seattle airport, I almost felt at home. Then, very soon, I was engulfed in hugs from my family...and it started to rain...and I knew that I was home!

The view outside my kitchen window.