I thought maybe I read the first post wrong, so I re-read it and I still interpret it as reading that he's taken the lessons for years. (including several trips to piano camp). And that the change in attitude over lessons co-incised with a change in the parents marital status. I hate to say that. I feel so terrible every time I say it. In which case it's not the usual arguement, which everybody wants to keep referring to, of charachter building and perseverance. It's a quiestion of continuity. Of, when my cousin recently divorced I overheard conversations about kids need comforting. Weither or not they know it they are in a stage of grieving a loss. But at the same time kids. (I wish I could think of a better way to word this so my poor choice of words isn't a straw man concealing the intended meaning). Kids can't be allowed to use this circumstance as an excuse. In this case he has been taking piano, why should that change now just because the dad is gone? That the mother taking the lead in this case despite the kid's protests could be comforting, in theory. Of course, there's something to be said for a fresh start and a new plan, too. There's many angle's to the dangle.

Youth lives by personality, age lives by calculation. -- Aristotle on a calendar