Piano lessons

I have 21 piano students so far ranging in age from 12 to ? . There are more people who want to take lessons, but schedules need to be figured out before any more are added. Most of them don't have a piano or even a keyboard at their house, so they come to the church to practice. They spend a lot of time and are making good progress. The goal is to get them ready to play in their sacrament and other meetings. Right now, I play for most of the meetings and all of the baptisms. That is about to change, however!  Here are some of my many dedicated students:

May comes to Udorn on Tuesdays for school, so we have her lesson on that day. She lives in Kumpwabi--about an hour away. She has great talent and plays for sacrament meeting in her branch. (She was the girl in bright pink in the district Relief Society birthday celebration picture.)

Sam hasn't been a member for very long, but has a powerful testimony and is a strong member. He is the executive secretary to the district president. He is also helps with young adult family home evening for the two branches here in Udorn. He has a natural talent for music and can hear music in his head and then figure it out on the piano. He wants to skip the simplified stuff and go straight to the difficult hymns in the hymn book. Currently, he is working on "Come Thou Font" (it's still in the Thai hymnbook). I am encouraging him to learn some hymns he can play quickly while he works on the others. We need him! He is very dedicated!

In order to get them ready to sing with a congregation (when they have to keep going even when they make a mistake), I have some of my other piano students sing along while they play. Playing for a congregation is a difficult skill to learn, so it takes practice. They get very frustrated sometimes, and it often turns into a laugh session. Better here than in sacrament meeting! Tuey (middle) is 15 and very good on the piano. She can play nearly every simplified hymn in the book. Pim (right) is a new member in the last three weeks and a new student for me. She loves it and is doing well.

There will probably be more pictures to come. Piano lessons are a big part of what I do!