An intersting question ?

[Michelle_16]

Hi lenni
I know sum ppl here hav already told u about me...im so famous already! ha! anyway im 16 and iv been playin the piano 4 a while now. And yes, its a struggle sometimes when i need to have a wide octave range bcos i have restricted elbow movement but i simply move my whole arm to compensate. I also have an arm rest leadin to the keys cos my arm gets lazy sumtimes and dusnt want to stay raised when i get a lesson(my arm is quite rude sumtimes-LOL).
I have went through .... wait 4 it...8 teachers simply bcos piano teachers can sumtimes want to teach pupils to exam and competition level..which i dont. i do it for leisure. these teachers r too pushy and dont realise that my arm jst DUSNT move some ways no matter how many times i try. I have a GREAT teacher jst now who occasionally jst holds my arm 4 me. She is so understandin. What i did is i explained to her when i met her and asked if she was willing to teach me with this disability. I explained it would take patience and dont expect too much from me. She ses it was not a problem and she is actually very interested in Erbs and done some research into it so she fully understood wot it was about. She is amazin and i got an A in my Music Higher! pretty good huh!?
I would explain to the teacher b4 u start payin for her/him bcos it will be easier for ur daughter if she has the same teacher all the time instead of choppin and changing!
Tell your daughter that u talk to ppl who have Erbs 2 and they play the piano and it is a little difficult and maybe that way she will take pride in her playin and it will give her a great sense of achievement when she can play a song because it will be a lil more difficult for her than other ppl her age with 2 good arms!
Tell ur husband to let her try it and find out wot its like for herself instead of holdin her back.
My parents NEVER held me back bcos of my arm. I think if they had ses to me " No Michelle you cant go to gymnastics because it will be too difficult bcos of ur arm" i would begin to hold my self back. Like not take interest in things "bcos of my arm" i wouldnt participate fully in PE or want to dance bla bla.
U are aswell encouragin her jst now bcos she will get more self concious of her arm when she gets older but at least she will have achieved a lot from it and can play an instrument which isnt really ideal for erbs arms but it can work!
I also play the tenorhorn (big brass thing like a trumpet!)
Well nite nite im off 2 bed.

Hope she gets to do wot SHE wants.

Michelle -x-

[Lenni]

Thank you for your experience's and views Michelle! I am thrilled to hear that you too have been able to try anything you wish!

Lenni