Monthly Archives: August 2014

Ten seconds – Hands off keys; stand up; take deep breath; yell at piano, composer or self; laugh; sit; play.

Our fingers press keys down to play notes; and without realizing it, we may be imagining pulling the fingers up to end the notes, as though the fingers were glued to the keys. But we needn’t lift the fingers; the keys will do that for us. All we need do is stop holding them down.

Our fingers press keys down to play notes; and without realizing it, we may be imagining pulling the fingers up to end the notes, as though the fingers were glued to the keys. But we needn’t lift the fingers; the keys will do that for us. All we need do is stop holding them down.

The first time I went to Dr. A., an acupuncturist, she used the needles and said that she’d then show me a useful exercise. Twenty minutes later I was off the table, sitting in a chair and wondering if she’d forgotten about the exercise. When I asked, she surprised me by saying, “You’re not ready […]

As teachers, we want our students eventually to work on their own—learning repertoire, acquiring technique, forming interpretations, giving performances, deciding what to do next—and teaching their own students. Our job is thus to make ourselves unnecessary;