Better late than never

In primary school I had a few music lessons. Just do re mi fa sol la si, very simple. Even so, I still remember how it felt to press a piano key for the first time. It moved me in a way that’s hard to describe. I was a kid back then. I didn’t understand why, I just knew I liked it.

Then I grew up. Schoolwork took up all my time, and learning an extra skill got put aside. Nobody stopped me. There just wasn’t the chance. And something that never gets its chance can easily be left there forever.

This year I’m 24. I’d planned to start lessons at the beginning of Q4, but my family had a few things to take care of then. Things are better now, so I decided to start.

To be honest, I don’t know much about music. I mostly listen to ballads and pop, to relax and chill. Learning piano is the same for me. No big goal. Just a vague feeling that learning something new will open up some new opportunity for me. What opportunity, I still can’t prove =))

I looked for classes on Google Maps, then asked Claude to filter them by a few things: close to home, class times that fit my schedule, a fair price. In the end I picked chị Thảo’s class in Quán Thánh.

The first time I went, I was quite surprised. The studio sits right above a snail restaurant. It’s a small room, but really pretty. She told me her husband designed it himself. There’s an air purifier, a dehumidifier, a few bean bags, some kind of scent jar I couldn’t name, and two pianos. A small, warm corner above a noisy snail restaurant. I found that contrast pretty sweet.

Chị Thảo’s studio in Quán Thánh.

Chị Thảo is only a year older than me and very friendly. She asked whether I was training in any sport. Because to her, learning piano is like training in a sport: you have to keep at it, there are no shortcuts.

Then came the first lesson, 8 a.m. on Saturday, 31 October.

I put my fingers on the keys, and that feeling from primary school came back. More than ten years later and it was exactly the same =))

After that I forgot to breathe. Probably from focusing too hard, and being too tense. Chị Thảo reminded me that breathing matters a lot. Playing is about feeling, about using your heart. Don’t use your head too much.

Right now I don’t have a piano at home. In December I plan to buy a digital piano, the kind you can plug headphones into, so I can practise any time without bothering my family.

It’s only the first lesson. I started a bit late, but better late than never.