You would expect a high school piano class to be loud.

Well, actually, you wouldn't expect a high school piano class at all.

But there they are, 25 Farrington students plunking away with their earbuds plugged into the pianos, their triumphs and errors evident only to themselves. All you can hear in the room is the soft thump-thump-thump of the keys, some sneakered feet keeping time on the floor and bits of quiet humming.

Mary Taylor has been teaching at Farrington for 15 years. She got old Baldwin pianos as hand-me-downs from the University of Hawai'i music department about 10 years ago. Those are in the back row, reserved for the more experienced students. In the front rows, her beginning students set up portable keyboards, which have to be put away every day because of the fire code in the crowded classroom.

Taylor purchased the newer keyboards as funds allowed, often from Costco. The class has grown in popularity, so much so that Taylor worries about the strain all the electric keyboards put on the old building's wiring.

"Arms level, back straight, feet on the floor. Ready? Ready!"

All the students unplug their earphones and play together as a group. They stare intently at their text, "The Older Beginner Piano Course." All are juniors or seniors. Many have no background in music and no piano on which to practice at home.

The semester just started, and they're working on basics like chords and posture and dotted half notes. They're learning "When the Saints Go Marching In." By the end of the school year, they'll be breezing through songs they have on their iPods.

Taylor says the key to teaching piano is finding the right music for each student. They all have to sweat through the basics, and she exposes them to the classics, but she uses their favorite music as incentive, or perhaps enticement.

Students bring in a song they like — any song, something from a video game, something they downloaded from iTunes — and Taylor transcribes the music into a piece they can play.

The boys like stuff from "Final Fantasy." The girls like music from Korean soap operas.

Sophomore Rodel Buhain brought in "To Zanarkand," a piece from Final Fantasy X, which is actually a lovely song despite its video game origin.

Jael Sefiko, a senior, unplugs her headphones and plays a lilting Pachelbel's Canon. DJ Sataraka, a Piano II student, works on a pop ballad, her hands floating over the keys, fingernails painted a bright green and a boy's name written on her hand.

"Next week, be ready to start anywhere in the song," Taylor tells the students. "That means you really know the piece."

And then there's the class ringer.

Jabriel Walker, a senior, says he's been playing piano for only three semesters. Taylor says, "Oh, Jabriel has been saying that for a couple of years now." She calls him "Music Man" because he plays 'ukulele, guitar, bass, drums and baritone. Plus he sings. For Taylor, he agreed to learn a Billy Joel song, "She's Got a Way."

"I've been trying to get someone to play this song for years," Taylor said. "It's such a good song."

Walker straightens the sheet music and starts with a flourish. "I make my own beginning," he says, and then he starts singing. After artfully reinterpreting Billy Joel, he works on a song with a reggae beat.

Sometimes during lunchtime jam sessions, students who have already graduated show up to say hi and join in an impromptu performance.

"I tell them when they graduate, you're leaving, I'm not. You can come back and visit."

Taylor, who grew up on Long Island and came to love music on visits to "the Met, Broadway and all that" used to play woodwinds with the Nalauai brothers of the group the Surfers. She talks of those Waikiki gigs with a smile.

She wants her students to know that kind of magic, the joy of performing for people and the fun of figuring out the language of music.

"You watch their faces, and you can just see the wheels turning. You see them light up when they get it. I love teaching."

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.