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Perseverance

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Perseverance can make all the difference in the life of a piano student. It can also make all the difference as a teacher to keep going in the trenches with a student who continues to struggle. There’s no guarantee they will succeed. It seems as if everything is stacked against them. Practice may be sporadic, if at all. Other activities buy for their time. Practicing the piano can be a lonely endeavor, and it’s not that glamorous. Parents may lose hope if it’s a constant battle to remind them to practice. The student and parents may give up before they see success.

However, for the child whose parents back them up, even when struggling over the long-term, even when the child balks at practicing, it’s just a matter of time before perseverance brings the reward.

As a teacher I spent three years continually reminding a student that instead of having the entire side of the thumb play a key, to stand on the thumb and have the corner of the thumb play. At least several times a month I said the same thing, “Stand on the thumb.” It was constant correction. She could do it, but she had to focus to do it, and that took a lot of effort. Since she wasn’t ready to put forth that effort, I put forth the effort to keep reminding her.

And then one day, hell froze over. I said, “stand on the thumb,” and she responded with the hand position of a concert pianist. I don’t have a single other student who can stand on their thumb better than she can. I was so shocked at the beauty of it, that I asked her to do it again. For the first time in three years, she maintained the superb hand position while she played.

Then she commented to me how comfortable and easy it was to play the piano in that position. She said, “Why would I go back to my old way? This way feels so much better.”

She complimented me for saying the same thing over and over to her until she had finally experienced what I had been trying to convey to her all these years. And she was excited to practice. She couldn’t wait to go home to her piano.

Now she understands not from me telling her, but from her experiencing it for herself. No one can take that away from her, and she can pass her learning onto others.

Perseverance is key. Something magical can happen when the student, parents and teacher all persevere together with unwavering faith that something new can happen, and they don’t give up until it does.

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Path to Fruition

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Did you know that Honda was originally the last name of a Japanese scientist who spent his life developing his idea, trying different variations and being turned down before it came to full fruition and is now the make of car with which we are all familiar? Later in life an interviewer asked him about his “failures” before it finally all came together for him into the vehicle we know today. He responded by saying something to the effect of, “You talk about and label everything I did prior to my success as “failure.” It’s not failure. That is the process of bringing something to fruition.”

Some students struggle with the concept of failure in piano. If they make a mistake, they’ve failed. If they don’t get it right the first time, they’ve failed. Some even equate this perceived “failure” as they themselves are bad. One particular student wrestled with this issue for quite some time. With the parents and I on the same page, we were both determined not to give up on her.

One day I told her the Mr. Honda story and related it to piano. I mentioned that there were some mistakes in her playing she needed to fix, but they were not failures. They were the path to fruition. I asked her if she was up for addressing these mistakes. She said yes.

With a positive attitude and ears listening like a hawk she evaluated her own playing and rather than judging herself as bad if she made a mistake, she simply kept trying until she could do it well three times in row. She made remarkable progress in just that one lesson.

I asked her, “How long have you struggled with this spot in the music?”

“Months,” she answered.

“How long did it take to work out and correct the mistake?”

“One and a half minutes,” was her response with a smile on her face.

“What was the key to that?”

“Listening closely with a positive attitude.”

At the conclusion of her lesson she told her mom, “I am on the path to fruition.”

How about you? Are you on the path to fruition? It is through mistakes, listening for them, working them out and correcting them right as they happen that you too can succeed in piano. Mistakes are not failure. They are the path to fruition.

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Ideal Practice Habits

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I recently read a study published in the February 2014 Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) E-Journal on the practice habits of 2nd year piano majors at a university. These were all pianists who knew how to play the piano and could play it well. The researchers were interested in finding out exactly how did each student practice and how effective was that practice.

What was interesting was there was a direct relationship between how they practiced and whether or not they continued on in piano or dropped out of piano.

One student (student #1) identified mistakes and worked out one mistake at a time, listening closely to his playing. When he mastered it and could play it three times in a row well, he moved on to the next spot where he made a mistake. This is how he spent the majority of his practice session. At the end of the session he played through the whole piece and made a note of any remaining mistakes and that is what he would address in his next practice session. He mastered music quickly. Two years later he graduated in piano and was looking at continuing to study piano in graduate school.

On the opposite end of the spectrum was a young woman who said she enjoyed the piano and practicing. However, it was noted by the researchers that this student made faces (probably out of frustration) when practicing. She also spent more time practicing than student #1 and instead of focusing on small chunks of the music and fixing one mistake at a time, she practiced bigger chunks with multiple errors in it. The down side to this method was that she reinforced her errors as she was attempting to fix an error at the end of a passage. It took her longer to master the music. She ended up dropping out of piano lessons before graduation.

How you practice has an impact on your success and enjoyment at the piano. If you are not getting the results you want within a few tries, talk to your teacher about different practice techniques. This goes for all piano students, whether a beginner or more advanced student. When you are able to pinpoint a problem and choose an appropriate technique to solve it, the results are astounding. You deserve to have astounding results. Your child deserves to have astounding results.

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Desire to Play

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Recently I attended a piano concert where the performer played some amazing music. The speed, dynamic contrast, and wide range of color coming out of the piano was truly a marvel. After one of the most exhilarating pieces came to a close, no one could contain their enthusiasm for what they had just heard. Among the applause I overheard an older woman say to her friend, “Well, I guess I’ll just have to sell my piano.”

I was surprised and disturbed. When I am moved by music at a concert, I go out and buy it so I can learn to play it myself one day, if not that day. It never occurred to me that for some people the expression of beautiful music reminds them of feeling inadequate.

It’s easy to compare ourselves to others and then shut the door when we think we don’t measure up. However, music is not just for a select few. It is for everyone. If you have that recurring thought about wanting to learn to play the piano or even to improve your skills, allow yourself the space to do something about it. Will you play the piece with which the concert pianist wowed the crowd? I don’t know, but the desire to create doesn’t go away, and if you have the desire that is what you have in common with the concert pianist. They did something about their desire to play. Will you?

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Breathing

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Breathing. We’ve all been breathing since we were born. We never learned how to do it. We just do it. As we age it’s not uncommon to subconsciously start holding our breath when trying something new. In piano, I call it holding your breath and praying your way through a difficult passage of music. On occasion you’re successful, but it is a wholly unpleasant experience.

Try it sometime. Hold your breath, maybe even hold your shoulders up a little, and then do whatever you’re wanting to learn how to do. How long can you keep it up before you get tired and your shoulders ask to be let down?

The good news is life and piano don’t have to be that hard.

Now let your shoulders hang, like coats on a coat rack. Go slow enough so you are aware of your breathing.

Which way feels better to you?

Breathing fully allows your body to relax. When it’s relaxed, your skeleton can articulate how it was designed to articulate. In this state you will find ease in playing. It is fun and rewarding. Frustration and tension will melt away, and you will be immersed in the art of playing the piano.

Schedule an introductory piano lesson by calling (360) 527-9626, or email me with questions.

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Yawning

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Yawning. What’s that have to do with piano? Everything.

I once had a student that was trying a new part of a piece for the first time. She really had to focus, think things through and make an attempt. In her concentrated effort I noticed she was biting her lip. I let her figure the passage out and play it roughly a few times.

Once she had the general idea I said, “Now yawn and play it.”

She got a big yawn going and as she started to play, the most beautiful sound came out of the piano. It was no longer a beginner trying to learn how to play the piano. Instead, the piano sang in the way a concert pianist can make a piano sing. She was making music.

Stunned by the exquisite tone she had just created, I asked, “Did you hear that?” She just smiled the biggest smile. “That is why we yawn.”

When we yawn, we can’t help but relax. When we relax, we can’t help but create a beautiful tone out of the piano.

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Parents and Listening

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As a parent you want the best for your child. You want them to learn and grow and become capable musicians, as well as adults. While it’s the child taking lessons that actually sits down at the piano to play, the parents and the home environment play a significant role in the success of the child.

What can you do to help support the success of your child in music lessons?

Listen to classical music in the car or at home.

Just have it going in the background. You can also attend classical music concerts. What better way to be inspired than to see an accomplished musician live.

When I was in my twenties I used to coach ice hockey. The biggest problem we coaches ran into coaching American players was that they did not have much exposure to watching high level hockey games. The skills and concepts we were teaching them they had never seen before or had limited exposure to. Meanwhile, in Canada, where every Saturday night nearly every Canadian watches Hockey Night in Canada, Canadian children are exposed to a high level game and see the skills and maneuvers they will one day attempt when they learn to play hockey. It is no wonder that Canada is known for its hockey players.

The same applies to children and music lessons. As a parent you can enhance your child’s learning simply by having classical music playing in the background. You don’t even need to tell your child what you’re doing. It’s just part of the home environment. Try it; you just might like it.

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Cultivating Effortlessness

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Have you ever dreamed that you could be one of those people who play the piano beautifully and effortlessly? Right now you can begin cultivating that skill with one simple idea.

Slow down.

Explore the pace where you can play with ease and comfort, without a care in the world. This is oftentimes much slower than you would want to publicly show your friends how good you are at piano. But this is where the real learning is.

When you go so slow you can’t make a mistake, you will play with ease and comfort. Now you can relax and savor each movement. It’s so slow you become aware of every little thing you are doing. It is at this pace you can easily change something that isn’t working for you. As you become comfortable, the pace will naturally pick itself up.

In our world of instant gratification, going slow may seem like it’s only for someone who’s not very good at piano. Not true. There is a story about the famous 20th century concert pianist, Arthur Rubinstein. Following a concert he just gave, you could find him in a music store practice room playing his entire program slowly. It is how he maintained his pieces so he could perform them again and again.

Going slow is the mark of a true musician. Welcome to the world of learning how to make music effortlessly.

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Listening

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“The most important thing I look for in a musician is if he knows how to listen.” — Duke Ellington

As a student learning to play a musical instrument you can spend a lot of time learning notes and rhythm. While these skills are important, the skill of listening to your own playing is crucial to creating a beautiful sound and becoming independent of your teacher.

Teachers can be wonderful assets to your growth as a musician. However, if you don’t learn to listen to your own playing you will always be waiting to hear from someone else if what you played was ok.

As you take lessons, take advantage of the listening skills of your teacher at your lesson. They may hear things you don’t and give you valuable insight. When you practice at home, you are your own teacher. Listen closely to the sound you make and adjust your playing to what your ears tell you.

This conscious act of listening may slow you down in how many pieces you can master with the notes and rhythm, but it will greatly increase your ability to create and enjoy your own beautiful music.

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Young Beginners Practice Guide

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The detail of my last post, How to Practice, can be overwhelming to young beginners. Here’s a simplified version to help young students develop effective practice habits.

YOUNG BEGINNERS PRACTICE GUIDE

1. Name the notes without using the piano
2. Find the notes on the piano
3. Choose a fingering for the notes
4. Clap and count the rhythm (hands alone first)
5. Play and count (hands alone first)
6. Bonus: Add the dynamics (loud and soft)

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