Baby Music

Being a pianist practically all my life meant that my kids would play too. Surely they'd love the piano as much as I did. Surely my enthusiasm would become theirs.

As soon as my son was able to sit, I put him on the piano stool and asked him to play, and he did, a baby fascinated by the sounds he could make, just like his mama did.

He was also fascinated by the height of the stool, and the fact that he could go around and around with my help.

When he was a year old, he had it down. Good hand placement on the keys, curled up toes, and a master's fat ego on his face.

My old Toronto-made Gerhard Heintzman had an incredible rich sound that brought pianists to our door when I was a kid. My father bought me the piano because he got the message after two years of begging and me playing the tabletop at mealtimes. My piano teacher in the village would come over just to have "the privilege of playing this piano," and so my love for my piano grew even stronger.When my daughter was a year old, I no longer owned the Gerhard Heintzman, because the soundboard was broken from a long-distance move. So I gave it to two men who practically drooled over it, because they knew pianos and desperately wanted this one.My daughter played on an electric Technics piano I bought in central Florida, a much smaller and more manageable instrument, albeit not a real piano. But it does have a decent sound.

She learned to play by watching me. My son learned to play by my instruction.When he was three years old, he sang along with his own chording, his own creation and lyrics.

My daughter knew the beauty of the arms and fingers of a concert pianist running through her as she played, with baby-like concentration.

I think my fun moment was when I handed my son my violin when he was only two and a half, and told him to be very gentle with it.

He picked up the violin with awe on his face and in his hands, and very carefully held it lengthwise, anchoring it with his feet, then he held the bow in his left hand and began to play.There was no screech of horsehairs on string, just sweet strokes of baby music coming off the beautiful instrument.