Although she had taken organ lessons before, she hadn’t discovered anything quite like Club Roland. Orndorff first started taking group digital organ classes when she moved from Virginia to a central Florida retirement community called The Villages. We’re learning ‘Silver Bells,’ ‘Frosty the Snowman,’ and a lovely Willie Nelson song called ‘Pretty Paper,’” she explains. “I’m taking a new class built around Christmas songs.
Orndorff, 68, had just returned from her group class and had her new practice disc already loaded in the organ, when she shared her experiences in the Club Roland instructional program for the Atelier. “Often I get up at 5 a.m., while my husband is still sleeping, go downstairs to the Atelier, put my headphones on, and do my exercises,” she says.
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Not only does she do her homework, she’s often up at the crack of dawn practicing, with a little help from technology provided by her Roland Atelier digital organ, including custom CDs of songs she’s learning in class and headphones for silent practice. You could say Fran Orndorff is the kind of student a teacher loves. “When I play, Follow Lights technology makes the students’ piano keys light up so they can follow along.” Students love the program, Shepard says, because the Clavinova is a versatile instrument that becomes a drum machine, a backup orchestra, or an at-home tutor, all at the touch of a button. “There’s a teaching piano connected to eight student pianos,” Shepard explains. Shepard’s group classes are a world away from the traditional picture of a piano lesson. “We’re a way to bridge the gap for people who’ve wanted to play music their whole lives, but were afraid, let’s say, of the piano or the old-fashioned teachers,” he laughs. One of the first in the country, Shepard reports his year-old program is going strong. The facilitator of Piano Distributors’ Clavinova Connection is Erik Shepard. “We’ve also met wonderful people through this program,” he adds. “It’s an enjoyable thing to do, and a hobby that you get a lot out of,” he says. For Ray, one of the most important benefits of playing piano as a hobby is the relaxation it affords after a long day at work. “My wife used to play piano, so she takes it a little more seriously, practicing at home quite often,” he says. He used to play trumpet in high school band but now prefers just to have fun. Ray also enjoys how Clavinova Connection welcomed a self-described “non-musician.” “It’s a great program for someone like me, who wants to fiddle around with music,” Ray observes.
That’s why evening Clavinova Connection sessions are especially important to the couple, who often enjoy the piano group after work, before going out to dinner. “The trouble is, down here, everyone assumes you are retired, and most adult classes are in the daytime,” explains Ray.
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BJ also continues to work full time as a medical transcriptionist, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have time for a hobby. “We tried retirement, but I was going crazy,” says Ray, who now works as a picture framer in Venice, Florida after a career as a mechanical designer for an aircraft technology company. These programs also offer mature adults a chance to stay active in retirement. Clavinova Connection, Lowrey Magic, and Club Roland are new group instructional methods for anyone who wants to make music, regardless of ability. It may be time to put that thought to rest, as Ray, 74, and his wife BJ, 66, did when they signed up at Piano Distributors of Sarasota for a Yamaha Clavinova Connection group class for digital piano. Have you ever walked past a piano or organ store and heard a demonstration or seen a display of new digital models and wished you could play? Perhaps you used to be a pianist, but gave it up when work and kids took all your time, or, like Floridian Ray Wilson, perhaps your desire to play was outweighed by a feeling that you’re not “musical” enough.
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