I have been studying piano and music for ten years. I have had many professors during this time, but I especially remember two of them, Adrian and Christian. They were my professors in a Conservatory of Music located in Cartago. I would say that I have learned many important things thanks to them, but they were very different. The main differences between them were patience and attitude.
Once in a while, when you meet someone for the first time, if you are lucky enough you feel that special feeling that you have known this person before. That is what I felt when I spoke to Adrian, my professor, in our first class. He was very kind and patient. He always said to me that learning how to play an instrument is like to built a chain. I had to do my best to maintain that chain because each link must be strong. I did not go fast because if I should have links that are missing, broken or weak, my chain would soon fall apart. I had to be patient and always remember that each link of knowledge was so very important to keep what I had learned about music my heart, soul and mind. In contrast with Adrian, Christian was so inpatient. For him the details and expression were not important, that was just crap. He only was worried for listening to me and rapid follow his schedule with the next student. He never had patience with my mistakes, and always gave me thousands of scores to study for our next class. That quantity of scores was impossible to practice in a week, but he never understood that. These two teachers were also very different in regards of their attitude.
Adrian loved music, and also loved to share his gifts to others by teaching. He could spend hours with his students without getting upset because for him was very important to answer all their questions. He was also so understanding and supportive in all the things that I did as his student. For instance, when he organized a recital in the Melico Salazar Theater, he asked me to play there.
