February 29, 2012

Piano Students Say the Darnedest Things

I love my piano students. They come up with the craziest things. I have a habit of writing down some of their most amazing revelations. Epiphanies!

Some recent examples:
"The key to success is to go slowly."
"My new approach is to go slowly and not make any mistakes."
...and...
"My God! If you get the fingering right, it helps!"
Indeed.

It is fascinating to watch the human brain in the learning process; this is one of my favourite aspects of teaching. Learning can only happen when one is ready for the learning...you can bet I point out the benefits of both practicing slowly and with correct fingering WEEKLY. But it would appear those ideas can only "take" when the student is ready.

And just to share with you a couple of lovely visual examples of a student really responding to my teaching about the memorization process and really running with it, thereby conquering a big chunk of nervousness about performing - I absolutely love moments like these.
Pretty beautiful, eh?

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