Piano Musings by an 8-yr-old

Saturday April 15, 2006                     Julia is 8 years old (nearly 9)

I'm up in my room getting ready for the day.  Downstairs Julia is plinking out on the piano the familiar song from The Sound of Music, "Do, A Deer" and as she gets to the end she sings at the top of her lungs, "that will bring us back to do!".  She does this repeatedly, intermittently inserting the tune, "Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater."  After awhile she shouts for all to hear, "those are the only two songs I know, but I play them pretty well."

I come downstairs to press my shirt.  I see she has three plush bunnies perched on the piano.  One is orange, "Carrots" (hers).  One is blue and one is yellow.  She is now into a repeat mode of "Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater."  She casually announces she is "playing it in every key."  She reaches the top of the scale and observes that "pianos should be longer."

She suggests we should relocate the piano to a more central location in the room because "music brings peace into the home and encourages conversation."

Now Julia is sorting the empty plastic eggs into categories (at my request).  The first category she selected was by size.  "Guess which pile will be the biggest," she says.  "Medium size," I reply and she confirms it was the right choice.