Why Blue Ivy Refuses a Piano Teacher, According to Jay-Z
Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter Tour” broke records in 2025, and fans adored seeing her teen daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, hit the stage. While Blue Ivy has shown off her dancing chops in previous tours, her commanding stage presence became a highlight for fans during the Cowboy Carter era. Recently, Jay-Z commented on her daughter’s natural talents and said Blue Ivy refuses to have a piano teacher despite her musical gifts. Here’s why.
Jay-Z explained why his daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, refuses to get a piano teacher
Blue Ivy Carter shone brightly while dancing on stage during Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter Tour” in 2025. Fans noticed how the 14-year-old gained confidence while upping her skill level for this tour. In March 2026, Jay-Z spoke to GQ about Blue Ivy fighting to earn her spot as a dancer.
“That was amazing,” Jay-Z said of watching his daughter thrive. “On the first tour, there wasn’t a lot of conversation around her first performance. And she worked really hard to get to that point. But she still wasn’t going for it. She still was, like, going through the motions. And after that, she just started going for it. She started fighting back. I saw her fight, maybe for the first time in her life, like, fighting back. Like, not everything is just given to her, and everything is easy. She had to fight for that. She fought for it.”
The rapper also noted that Blue is a “crazy pianist.”
“But she won’t let us get her a teacher,” he continued. The reason? The teen wants the piano to feel fun and free.
“She don’t want it to be a job,” Jay-Z added. “But she has a perfect pitch. Anything, if she hears a song, she’ll be like, play it again, play it again. And then she’ll play it. She’ll teach herself; she’ll find the notes, and then she’s off playing it. That’s just talent. Because we tell her, you know that’s not normal, right?” She’s just like, ‘No, I just want to play. I enjoy playing. Let me just play.'”
Beyoncé’s mom, Tina Knowles, doesn’t think that Blue Ivy has the same ‘passion’ for music
Before Jay-Z’s interview, Beyoncé’s mom, Tina Knowles, told People that she’s not sure whether Blue Ivy Carter has a “passion” for music in the way that her parents do.
“She can do so many things,” Tina said in September 2025. “She can paint, she writes poetry; anything she puts her mind to do, she’s good at. So, I don’t know what she’s going to do.”
“I think she would be great at music; [she] would kill it,” she continued. “But I don’t think that that’s her passion.”
Tina has also called her granddaughter a “jack of all trades,” noting that she could very well follow in her mother’s footsteps if she so chooses.
Beyoncé’s father, Mathew Knowles, told Us Weekly in 2020 that he says his daughter in Blue Ivy.
“Blue Ivy is just so incredible and reminds me of Beyoncé so much,” he said at the time. “Sir, he just wants his world to himself. [His twin sister], Rumi, reminds me of [my daughter] Solange.”
Mathew noted that Blue had “already proven” she was a musical force. “Just like I saw it in Solange and Beyoncé when they were growing up,” he said. “They’re just about the passion because when we live in our passions, we don’t have to work a day in our lives. … I just want them to find their passions and put in the work ethic, and they’ll be successful.”
