Playing

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.

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.

“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.