Grandma Knows Best – Counting Out Loud

I started piano lessons when I was 9 years old. I would say that I was just an average student for the first year or so. I could play my pieces fairly well…I had no problems with getting the notes right, but always had too many places where my timing was not accurate. One day, my grandmother, who was an organist, asked me to play a piece for her. When I finished she looked at me and said ” What about the timing? You have to count out loud when you practice… One, two, three, four! Go slowly, and be patient. That’s how you do it!” I slithered off the piano bench and sulked up to my bedroom feeling ashamed and humiliated.

A few days later,  I stopped feeling sorry for myself and figured it was time to lock horns with the piano again. I opened my piano book to the piece I had butchered for Grandma, and, reluctantly, decided to try her suggestion. I played the first few measures, counting the way she had instructed. I stopped, and thought, “Hey, I think I got most of the timing right, and it wasn’t too difficult.” I continued in the same manner for the next few measures, and again, felt like I had little difficulty with the timing.

I practiced in this manner for the next few days on two new pieces that my piano teacher had assigned. When I got to my lesson, and played one of them, my teacher said, “That was good, Paul, and you only had a few timing mistakes!” She spent the next few minutes correcting those errors and some fingering problems. I played the next piece, with the same result.

I had an unfamiliar sensation on my bike ride home…I couldn’t quite figure it out.  I put my bike in the garage, and walked through the front door. My dad asked, “How was your lesson? Did you accomplish what you were supposed to?”

“That’s it! ” I thought. Accomplishment! That was the strange sensation I was feeling.

To this day, after 25 years of teaching, I have my students count out loud. I call it the “wonder drug” for getting the timing right. It not only works well, it works immediately.

Thanks Grandma!