As pianists, we are constantly striving to reach toward goals. We have goals of how fast to play scales or a certain passage, goals of how many minutes we should be practicing each day, goals of how many performances to have in a single month or year. When we reach those goals, we are rightfully proud of our accomplishments, we breathe a sigh of relief, and we bask in the warmth of the fuzzy feelings that come our way.
But why can’t we strive for more? When we say “I’ll do my best”, is that really just a way of saying “I’ll reach a certain goal, and not reach for more”?
What is the “more”? Maybe the “more” is pushing past the norm. Maybe the “more” is pushing ourselves to do more than what we perceive to be our best. Pushing out of our personal comfort zones and joyfully cheering on each success or failure as a means of growth.
When I was in college preparing for my senior recital as a part of my Piano Performance degree, I had reached a plateau with Bach’s Italian Concerto. I had the piece down cold. Notes memorized, rhythms solid, dynamics automatic. I thought I had reached my goal. But I definitely had not exceeded that goal. I had deluded myself into thinking that the piece was good enough. It was definitely better than anyone around me could play it. So part of my complacency stemmed from the fact that I was comparing myself to others around me. I didn’t need to push myself any more.
My teacher suggested I take a lesson with another teacher who taught at a nearby state university. This was pushing past the norm. It was going out of my comfort zone by leaving the familiarity of my own teacher. I knew what my own teacher would work on, what points he would make. But I had no idea what this other teacher would do. Would I fall flat on my face? The unease of a “first lesson” fell upon me.
During that lesson, the Italian Concerto went as planned. Everything was correct, nicely in place. But it was boring. How would the new teacher work on this piece? There was seemingly nothing to “correct”, but how could I burst off of that plateau and reach for something better?
Tempo. Tempo was the boundary that we pushed past that day. This teacher pushed me to play faster than I had ever played that piece. I was holding on for dear life as the teacher pushed me through that piece. It was exhilarating!
Style. We worked on making the piece have more of a “bounce” to it. It was instantly more joyful and alive with feeling.
Though that lesson took place 15 years ago, I remember the underlying philosophies behind it. We have to push the boundaries of what we expect of ourselves. We need to constantly reach for more.
Sometimes we fail, but even that is success. On the next attempt, we stand on the shoulders of that failure and rise to new heights of understanding.
the view from my studio 