George is a third grader at Willard Elementary School and a budding piano teacher.
George Taylor is a third grader at Willard Elementary School and a budding piano teacher. Courtesy photo

Willard third grader doesn’t just take piano lessons — he gives them

By Christine M. Quirk — [email protected]

If you’re looking for inexpensive piano lessons — with bonus kitty pets — George Taylor may be your man. 

Um, kid. 

The Willard third grader asked his father to post for him on Facebook, offering his services as a piano teacher so that he could share his love of music. 

“Hello, I am starting 20-minute piano lessons,” the listing begins. “To participate in lessons it is $5. Please note that I am nine years old so my quality of teaching may be very low.” 

Playing by ear 

George may be selling himself short.

George is a third grader at Willard Elementary School and a budding piano teacher.
George, the budding piano teacher. Courtesy photo

“George is quite something,” his piano teacher, Colleen Katsuki, tells The Concord Bridge in an email. “He has a great ear  — that means he has a good musical memory and sense of music. He is just like a sponge for anything I teach him.”

George started lessons in October, and, “Oh, boy, I’ve learned so much since then,” he says. 

His father, Frank, says he suggested the lessons as an activity for George. “I said he had to go to a half-hour lesson or 20-minute lesson, and then after that, he could never go again,” Taylor says. “But he liked it well enough.”

George’s repertoire includes “Arkansas Traveler” and “Shortenin’ Bread,” but he says his favorite song is “the one I made up.” 

“I have a longer version of it, too,” he says. 

Taylor says Katsuki has a lot to do with George’s success. 

“She inspires George by telling him the stories of the old folk songs and why it’s important to play the music,” he says.

“[There’s one] called ‘The Drinking Gourd,’ and it’s about following the stars of the Big Dipper to escape slavery from the South to the North.”

George Taylor practices piano in his Concord home. Courtesy photo
George practices piano in his Concord home. Courtesy photo

Career training?

Taylor says he’s happy to support the musical ambitions of his son, who currently practices on an electric piano, for as long as he wants to play. 

“We’ll make it fun, and keep it fun, and let him run with it as far as he can,” he says. Though George loves playing and writing music, he’s not planning on making a career of it. 

“I’m probably going to college,” he says. “But for me, it’s more of a side step. … All it would do is basically let me have more opportunities. My dream job is actually driving a train because I love trains.”

If he gets some customers, George says he wants to buy “random stuff like candy while upgrading my lemonade stands.” 

George wants potential customers to know that he’s teaching in his home, so students must follow his house rules. He also adds a few notes about his cat, Sylvie, in case prospective pupils are fearful or allergic. Sylvie, he says, is black and white and “kind of old” — but very smart. 

“If you do not have a problem with cats, you’re allowed to pet her,” he says. 

For information about George’s piano lessons, email [email protected].

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