a little night music

The elder lad wandered into the bedroom where I was readying the lass for Lights Out this evening and sat down at our digital piano.  He said something like, "would you like some music?"  To which I replied, "sure!"  It has long been my policy to let the bambini noodle around on the piano (while insisting that "only fingers go on the piano" -- not trucks or toys or other things -- and to use the pads of their fingers at that) and just casually mention things sometimes like "the keys have names from A to G -- not the whole alphabet."

That's what I did tonight, and to my wonderment and great delight, the lad said "let me find A..."

**and he did**

Starting at the very bottom of the keyboard, he spelled aloud "A-B-C-D-E-F-G... A" and kept right on going (he did eventually get to H, I, and J, but I gently reminded him where to start over and he was back on track).  As I've casually done before, I played a few major scales for him in various keys.  Then he played a C-major scale, followed by an original composition about a dinosaur back down at the bottom of the keyboard.

I've been thinking that this summer might be an ideal time to take the next step on him gaining some more familiarity with the piano, because he does seem interested and we will have the time to do it.  I'm pretty daunted by the idea of being his piano teacher, but I have a few materials that I think will probably help (if I can devote the time to perusing them first so that I don't bungle the teachable moments as they present themselves). 

We'll see what other compositions might come out of such informal studies...