"It’s All Right There": Learning Piano with Courage and Joy

When we sit at the piano, we’re not just learning notes—we’re learning how to trust ourselves. Sunshine, one of the students in Simple & Beautiful Piano for Adult Beginners, recently shared her journey with me. Her story touched me deeply, and with her permission, I want to share pieces of it with you.

Sunshine began learning piano with her husband, a gifted guitarist and jazz musician who passed away six months ago.

“He was a great player but not the greatest teacher :) because he always thought I was ready to move on to the next thing when I'd just barely learned the first. So I really appreciate the pacing of this course, and the breakdown of the sections.”

She’s found peace and momentum in a slower, more deliberate process—starting not with reading music, but with rhythm, hand placement, and singing the notes.

“It’s been very beneficial for me NOT starting from reading the music but from the combination of rhythm and the placement of hands/fingers and getting super familiar with the notes… I think that’s going to help me truly internalize what’s going on musically rather than just 'painting by the numbers.’”

She especially resonated with starting on the black keys—rooted in the pentatonic scale, the foundation for much of the ambient and minimalist music she loves (and the jazz her husband played).

“When I first set out to teach myself piano, I had all these Alfred's books for adult learners and only about 10% of the practice pieces (in C or G major) were songs I wanted to play. My favorite music is jazz, which is what my husband also played, so it's wonderful to start out with these meditations. I can almost feel him wanting to riff on them, but I'm more patient and will get there on my own eventually!”

Music is not just a skill—it’s memory, emotion, connection. For Sunshine, playing even a little each day lifts her mood and energy, despite the challenges of living with MS and depression.

“You are so right about this being a form of meditation and self-care… I can tell that playing even for a little while helps with my fatigue and improves my mood.”

At first, she was skeptical she’d ever be able to improvise. Now she’s exploring and composing, remembering how her husband would sit beside her and turn a few chords into something magical:

“I was actually playing something random yesterday using the theme of 'Ludo’s Lullaby' and thinking of the way Steve used to hear me playing a few chords and come in and say, ‘Can I show you something?’ and proceed to play this whole beautiful improvisation... All of a sudden, I’m doing what he used to do, and it’s not magic. Or rather, it is. It’s just not some impossible thing I’ll never learn because I didn’t start early enough. That is incredibly powerful.”

Sunshine’s journey is filled with loss, resilience, and discovery. And in her words, you can hear the heart of music itself: patient, healing, full of promise.