Our Very Own Composer

There have been instances wherein Hendrik plays a tune in the keyboard where I know neither me nor Lola taught him. And when I ask him who taught him the notes, he would answer, “No one…”, right away. Further, I ask if he’s the one who looked for the notes and created the tune..., of course he will answer with a “Yes…”.

I know he has a very sharp memory and that he can easily remember the ones we taught him. But, I didn’t expect and was actually very surprised that he also knows the difference in each note. He knows which note to press in order to make the correct tune.

The first video is his rendition of what he calls “Seven Days in a Week”. The song, “Seven Days in a Week”, was taught to them in school; and I would usually hear Hendrik sing this song at home. Because he likes the song so much, he arranged a keyboard / piano piece for it.

"Seven Days in a Week" | 4 y/o

♪ There are seven days ♪

♪ There are seven days ♪

♪ In a week, in a week ♪

♪ Sunday, Monday, Tuesday ♪

♪ Wednesday, Thursday, Friday ♪

♪ Saturday… Saturday ♪

The next video is his rendition of the Korean cartoon TV series, “Tayo the Little Bus”. He only managed to figure out the 1^st 2 lines of the opening song. But, not bad, eh?

"Tayo the Little Bus" | 4 y/o

♪ Tayo, Tayo, Tayo, Tayo, he's a friendly little bus ♪

♪ Speeding up, slowing down Tayo’s always loves to run ♪

I asked him to complete the whole song, but I guess it was too much of me to ask of him. I myself, cannot even figure out the first 2 or 3 notes!

There is another rendition, a song he calls “Singapore, Singapore – Tropical Fruit Paradise”. He said the song was also taught to them in school by their music teacher, Auntie Sook Ching. I googled the song, hoping to find the lyrics, but unfortunately couldn’t find it. I suppose it is an original piece composed by their teacher. Hendrik was able to complete the keyboard / piano piece, but cannot remember the entire lyrics. One of these days, I will ask the school for the lyrics so that I can upload it together with Hendrik’s accompaniment of it as another blog entry.


Related posts:
Little Mozart - Hendrik's collection of piano / keyboard pieces since he was barely 2 years old.
Christmas Medley - Hendrik played a Christmas medley on Christmas eve, 24 December 2011.
Family Pianist - Blog entry where Hendrik became our official family pianist.    

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Little Mozart

Hendrik just loves music. He not only listens to music, but he makes music. He never fails to make us chuckle whenever he answers our questions to the tune of “Do-Re-Mi” or “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”. He also never fails to put a smile on our faces whenever we see and hear him sing the tunes of his favorite keyboard demo pieces at any time of the day and night whenever he feels like doing it.

I introduced wholesome and uplifting music to Hendrik while he was still inside my tummy. When he was born, children’s nursery rhymes and songs as well as Mozart filled our room. Because we let the player on for most of the day, I think music was already imprinted in his mind and soul.

Hendrik's "Chopsticks" | 3 yrs old
(without the demo lights & using his fingers)

Hendrik's "Let It Be" | 3 yrs old
(following the demo lights)

Hendrik's "Ode to Joy" | 3 yrs old
(without the demo lights & using his fingers)

Playing the piano is one of my many frustrations. I was given the opportunity to have piano lessons at a very young age, and my parents were also very supportive of me; but it was my choice not to continue and push through. I was given another chance while I was in the university when a good friend offered to give me lessons for free! I did not take it seriously and I was lazy. Two opportunities looked at me in the face, but I ignored them.

Hendrik's "Do-Re-Mi"

Hendrik's "Happy Birthday" | 2 yrs old

Hendrik's "Lightly Row" (but he calls it as "So-Mi-Mi")

I am glad that my son has a penchant for music. For a couple of weeks now, Hendrik would always request for the keyboard to be put on the bed by the time he wakes up in the morning because he wants to play with it. He also learns the pieces by himself. The demo feature of the keyboard is a very important factor to his memorization of the sequences of the notes. I was actually amazed when I saw him playing “Ode to Joy” without the guide lights. After repeating the demo over and over again for a couple of days he was able to memorize them. He even knows the demo numbering of the pieces/songs! As he is still starting to read little words, he recognizes the pieces/songs by number and not by title.

Hendrik and the Church piano | 1 yr old

Hendrik's "Lightly Row" ver 2 ("So-Mi-Mi) | 2 yrs old

Lola and 11-month old Hendrik (June 2009 | Davao, Philippines)

I must not forget to give credit to my Mom or Lola (grandma in Tagalog) as Hendrik calls her as she is a great influence to Hendrik. She was the one who taught Hendrik to play a number of simple pieces like “Do-Re-Mi”, “Happy Birthday”, among others. Lola would also sing songs anytime of the day and night, so I think Hendrik got it from her.

Note: Hendrik self-studied the first three pieces above - Chopsticks, Let It Be, and Ode to Joy - meaning (just to reiterate), no one taught him and learned the notes by himself  ^_^ .

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