By: People’s Paper MS Staff
For Mississippi pianist and songwriter Donna Bryant, music is more than something you hear. It’s something you feel.
A musician since childhood, Bryant began taking piano lessons in second grade and has been playing ever since. Now a piano and keyboard teacher, music writer, and mentor, she dedicates her time to sharing what she calls “the joy of music” with students of all ages.
“When a student hits a sound so pure and realizes they did something unique and awesome, there’s a light that comes on in their eyes that says, ‘I did it!’” Bryant said. “That moment means everything.”
Bryant teaches students ranging from children as young as five to adults in their seventies. Lessons focus not only on reading music, but also on helping each student find their own voice and style.
“Some of my adult students say, ‘I want to play like you,’” she said with a smile. “I tell them, ‘I’ll teach you to play like you … not like me.’”
Her approach draws from a deep faith and passion for live expression. In a digital age, Bryant believes that playing real instruments brings something uniquely human to the experience.
“Digital music isn’t bad,” she explained, “but it can’t capture everything a person can express at the piano.”
One of her favorite teaching stories involves a fourth-grade student who hugs her after each lesson and says, “Thank you for teaching me.”
Moments like these, she says, reaffirm her calling.
“I feel like teaching piano is a calling from God,” Bryant said. “It touches my soul in a way that words can’t describe. I love all my students and pray for them every day.”
