By Lydia Browne
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” – Plato
The piano has been a popular and appealing instrument to learn and play for centuries. It has been largely appreciated for its beautiful music since its invention in the early 1700s by Italian harpsichord-maker Bartolomeo Cristofori.
Those who play the piano have found that doing so brings many benefits, such as the release of stress and the building of self-esteem. This and much more has endeared the instrument to many people. One such person is Nancy Harlander.
Nancy Harlander, who is referred to as Ms. Nancy by her students, has been a resident of Benicia for 38 years, and when asked what she liked and disliked about the town, she said, “What I love about Benicia is the waterfront setting, all of the wonderful restaurants and shops on First St., all of the walking paths and options, the small-town feel–despite the population growth–and, of course, the two public pianos on First St. [However,] I don’t like the lack of social and cultural diversity, nor the Valero refinery.”
Ms. Nancy has been a piano teacher in Benicia since 1993. It all started when she decided to teach her five-year-old son how to play. This first “client” soon grew into many more— a group of her son’s friends. From there, her career blossomed, and has been successful for thirty years. Now, the ages of her students range from 6 to 56, with an average of around 11 years of age.
The piano is, as she says, “. . .easy to learn and play, without requiring intonation control. It includes bass and treble notes, which makes it the perfect instrument to learn before any others, [and] there is lots of beautiful and interesting written music available for piano. Plus, it is easy to compose on.”
As was mentioned, many different types and genres of music can be played on the piano. As a piano teacher, Ms. Nancy has many favorite genres and pieces to play and teach. She says, “My favorite genres of music are classical and jazz, as they are the most harmonically interesting. My favorite classical composer to play is Chopin, although I also love the music of Debussy, Ravel and Satie. My favorite jazz artist is pianist Oscar Peterson. Some of my favorite classical pieces are “Moonlight Sonata” by Beethoven, “Reverie” by Debussy, “Raindrop Prelude” by Chopin, and “Je Te Veux” by Satie. [My favorite] jazz [pieces] are “Take Five” by Paul Desmond, “Wave” by Antonio Carlos Jobim, and “I Can Recall Spain” by Chick Corea. My other favorite pieces are too numerous to list.”
Since there are many options for learning the piano, Ms. Nancy says, “In addition to the method books that I use to teach, I like to offer my students supplemental music of genres they prefer, to maintain their interest.” She also mentions that because she’s a skilled pianist, her “listening is almost too acute. . .” She often tries “to figure out the tone of beeps or honks. . .” As she puts it, “It can be rather annoying.”
Being a piano teacher has both wonderful and less-than-wonderful aspects. According to Ms. Nancy, “[My] favorite part of [the] job is the challenge of imparting skills to meet my students’ different learning styles and personalities, and then watching their efforts and enthusiasm and confidence grow – not only with their music, but also personally. Finally, listening to them perform their perfected pieces brings me the most joy. [However, my] least favorite part of my job is the scheduling and paperwork, and especially working with students who are not interested or willing to put in the effort, who are possibly only taking lessons because they are forced to.”
She also mentions that she is often very entertained by some of the comments of her younger students. “…some of [them] . . .are so funny,” she said, “such as ‘Why is your piano in the kitchen?’ and ‘My mom has a moustache, too!’ [They] keep me on my toes!”
It is very common for people to consider playing or desire to be able to play the piano, but they either never have the time to do so or think it will be too hard. When asked what she would say to someone who was considering learning to play the piano, Ms. Nancy said, “I would inform them that it is a commitment that will take time. [But, it] will stimulate their brain, and give them and others much joy. It will also enable them to listen more carefully, and appreciate music more. They will develop patience and discipline, ultimately leading to increased self-esteem and pride.”
As was said by the famous jazz musician Dave Brubeck, “It’s like a whole orchestra, the piano for me.” And, like many skills, it is never too late or too costly to learn how to play this beautiful instrument.
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