Valentina Rusu
concert pianist and teacher
Exacting; technique is freedom
Late Bloom
His granddaughter has a keyboard and he has always wanted to play. Desmond learns that adult beginners can progress — slowly, with plateaus and frustration, and with a joy he did not expect to find in scales.
Planned · not started yet
Arts, crafts & creative work Second chances Ambition Family home Warm Lightly witty
The premise
His granddaughter has a keyboard and he has always wanted to play. Desmond learns that adult beginners can progress — slowly, with plateaus and frustration, and with a joy he did not expect to find in scales.
The protagonist
Desmond Achterberg-Lyle — 55-year-old accountant learning the piano
The council
Every council member is an original fictional character. None represents, quotes or is endorsed by a real person.
Dr Gareth Mwangi
music-education researcher
Supportive; adults learn differently, not worse
Ray Holloway
amateur band leader
Fun-first; play with people early
How the story moves
Two years to a first recital; a long plateau nearly ends it, and his granddaughter becomes his duet partner and reason to continue.
What readers take away
- Reading notation
- Scales, keys and chords
- Technique and posture
- Deliberate practice
- Getting through plateaus
- Playing with other musicians
- Performance nerves
- Choosing a teacher
- Use a metronome effectively
- Sight-read simple pieces
- Practise hands separately and together
- Prepare for a graded exam
The books
- 1Middle C Planned
- 2Scales Planned
- 3The band Planned
- 4The recital Planned
Book titles are working titles and may change before publication. No book is on sale until the complete series is finished, checked and released.