The summer I was twelve, I started taking piano lessons with Gail. Gail lived a few miles from our home in Concord, California. When I met Gail, she had some kind of medical problem with her throat. She told me she had to speak more softly than usual. This translated into a voice that was both gentle and mellifluous. She also shared a memory of when she was in a hot tub and thought she was about to drown. As she fought for air, she found herself thinking, “Where is the suspenseful music?” I liked her instantly.

Studying with Gail immediately helped me make progress in reading music and learning classical music, which I longed for. I also appreciated that Gail encouraged students to play popular music they liked. I remember waiting for my lesson and hearing a student playing music from Disney’s “Aladdin,” which was new at the time. One day I brought in Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits, and Gail supported me in learning “The Mexican Connection” for one of her recitals.

I met Gail at a crucial time, where I was ready to lean into my piano learning. Her lessons also provided continuity during a tough transition to high school. Freshman year I attended a large public school, a shock after seven years at a K-8 school with ninety kids. Though I did well in my classes, I never felt at home amidst the throngs of clamoring teenagers. Taking the public bus to school each morning felt a bit like going down to the salt mines. Coming back home each afternoon, I found solace in playing our upright piano. Once a week, I rode my bike through Concord streets and along the canal to Gail’s house for a musical reprieve from a world I found overwhelming.

At some point that year, after taking lessons from Gail for about three years, she explained one day that she thought I had outgrown working with her. Would I be interested in studying with her piano teacher, an accomplished classical pianist? “You’re one of the best students I have ever had,” she said. While I appreciated the compliment, I felt that she was selling herself a bit short.

I never studied with Gail’s teacher. As it happened, after freshman year, bigger things awaited me than staying in Concord. I started attending an arts high school in San Francisco, with a focus (of course) on piano performance. Over the next few years of high school and college, I worked with piano instructors who were perhaps more worldly and accomplished than Gail. I benefited from them, yet none were as kind and warm to me as Gail was. Playing piano under Gail’s tutelage and support gave me what I needed at a critical stage in my musical (and personal) development.

Thinking back on lessons with Gail, it seems she showed me the kind of piano teacher I aim to be: encouraging, open-minded, and supportive. In my book, “Play Piano: A Learner’s Guide to Playing, Reading, and Creating Music“, I invite piano learners to have a satisfying learning experience that fits their unique musical interests.

Because I believe that a good piano teacher doesn’t just teach you things, or help you grow your skills. They support you in finding your joy in music making.

That’s what Gail did for me.