Learning The Piano Proves Life-Changing For Two Chiswick Residents
“Learning to play the piano is a dream come true,” says Ros McHugh, “thanks to an article I saw on ChiswickW4.com about David Wallace.” For Glyn Farrow, returning to the piano after 40 plus years was an ambition realised. “And,” says Glyn, “it's been said that activities that involve using your left and right hands independently have a positive impact on brain function, so what's not to like?”
Ros played the recorder as a child and Glyn had piano lessons, but neither had played anything since. Ros regretted not having learned the piano when she was younger, but feared she'd left it too late. “Playing the piano was something other people did,” she explains, but reading about David's teaching style changed all that. “The big revelations in the article were that David would come to my home, and that it wasn't necessary to own a piano - I could hire one, so I emailed David straightaway. As soon as we met I immediately knew he would be a great teacher, so off we went!”
“It's been amazing,” says Glyn, who also found David through ChiswickW4. “David has taught me a lot about chords and structure.” As a result, Glyn has gained a much deeper appreciation of music. “When you understand the structure, you can start to work out an accompaniment to a piece, which gives you a lot of freedom,” Glyn enthuses. “David has shown me mysterious things that I had always wanted to know,” he continues. “I even enjoy doing scales now I know how they're constructed and why I'm doing them.”
Ros is also full of praise for David's teaching. “David is a fantastic teacher. He is totally reliable, endlessly patient, and he demystifies the piano by breaking things down into very simple components, step by step. The result is that, within weeks, he will have you playing classical music and jazz - or whatever music you like. And,” Ros adds, “David wasn't at all fazed by me starting at the grand old age of 54 - he teaches people of all ages and all abilities.”
Glyn also finds David a very empathetic teacher. “It's quite uncanny,” he says, “but David seems to know whether I want to continue what we were doing last week, do something new, or something completely off the wall, which is great.”
“It's a real challenge and an incredibly enjoyable and rewarding way to exercise the brain,” says Ros. “It's been totally life-changing and I find it an absolute joy. I quickly moved from having a 40-minute lesson to a full hour, because I was enjoying it so much, and after a few months I bought a piano. As David has said to me, having a piano is like having a friend sitting in the corner, beckoning you to play!”
“The piano is the most complicated instrument,” explains Glyn. “It has all these little bits that move hither and yon. I think it's fantastic; I love just to watch pianos. I'm on an exploration into how it all works.”
Neither Glyn nor Ros are interested in grade exams, but are happy to take things at their own pace. “I measure my success purely on the progression I'm making,” says Glyn. “There'll be a piece that I've been working on for ages and it just starts to come right, and that's very satisfying. There's still a long way to go,” Glyn concludes, “but it's a really pleasant journey.”
For Ros, learning to play has also had some surprising extra benefits: “It's increased my appreciation of music ten-fold and has also led to all sorts of wonderful conversations with other piano enthusiasts, some of whom, like me, are starting relatively late in life. It will also be a wonderful hobby in retirement.”
Both Glyn and Ros are proof that you can come to the piano at any age and as Ros says “having David Wallace as a teacher makes all the difference.”
David is based in Chiswick but he teaches pupils in all the surrounding areas, including Hounslow, Brentford and Hammersmith, so wherever you're based he'll be delighted to have a chat with you about bringing the joy of music into your life through the piano. To find out more simply email David (who has Enhanced CRB status) at davidwallace5@msn.com or call him on 0793 994 8482 or 020 8400 2951.
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November 13, 2018
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