Little Carnegie of the South

It was Friday, July 13th, 2007 - a hot summer day in south Georgia.

I pulled into the driveway of the southern house off Forsyth Street, known as Little Carnegie of the South for my first piano lesson with Louise Barfield. On the phone, Louise (with a southern drawl) asked me to prepare all major and minor scales, four octaves, for our first lesson. I was cordially ushered in off the wide front porch by a tall woman, truly delighted to see me. Her hair was tied back in a loose bun and she wore cowboy boots.

I took a seat at one of the two grand pianos in the long living room and she took hers at the opposite end of the room, settling in comfortably at the end of a row of velvet chairs.

I began with C Major. I played four octaves up, four octaves down and stopped. "Why are you stopping?" She asked. "Play them in sequence." I began again. C Major, C# Major, D Major. All the while, Louise stood at the back of the room shouting, "Louder! Faster! Pretend you're in Carnegie Hall - you have to play to the whole room!!" About the time I approached F Major, my arms were burning. My fingers felt stiff and uncontrollable but I could not stop. She would not let me stop. I dragged my hands up and down four octaves until I finally (somehow) managed to arrive back at C Major. A few minutes later, we did this again. Louise took out a piece of paper and wrote down these questions (the answers I gave are included below):

On a scale from 1 to 10 - rate your performance - 10 being the best. 6 - tempo was fairly consistent, fingering needs work, need more endurance.

Why is it important to practice scales? Physical strength, endurance. Awareness of keys and key signatures. Strengthens fingers. Tempo consistency.

Why is fingering important? Ease of playing. Scale lines in music. Consistency.

Describe what you know about the technique of scale playing. Finger position must be curved, wrists and arms must be relaxed, elbows must be used to broaden control, tempo must be consistent.

My notes from this lesson read:

- curve fingers more - lead with body - lift fingers off key - don't touch key first - tension only permitted in 1st joint of fingers - "free the music from yourself" - energy is all mental - watch dropping fingers on keys - play in the air - the energy plays the keys - watch follow-through for each finger - be aware of our physical inhibitions - don't let them constrict the music - every action is plotted mentally - "you are your own teacher" - be aware of ego and laziness when practicing - fingers do the playing - support with strong body muscles

We began a few more technical exercises that day:

- drop: one finger at a time, up and down the scale line - drop/release: scale fingering (watch follow-through) - stretching/finger independence: C-Eb-Gb-A-C (or B), Bass C and Treble C position, hands separately. Play all notes together then lift/play one finger at a time, 4x each (straight fingers, not curved). Strengthens thought. Other fingers should be relaxed and resting. No finger, hand, arm, or shoulder strength - use diaphragm and energy from inside. Finger combinations (4x each): 5+3, 4+2, 3+1, 5+4, 3+4, 2+3, 2+1, 5+1.

July 13th, 2007 was a humbling day and one that marked a turning point in my understanding of music. We spent the rest of our lesson time reviewing one scale - note by note, finger by finger, muscle by muscle. For me, it was overcoming fear, being completely vulnerable and taking a step toward playing with confidence. It was a day I will never forget.

Boys Will Be Boys

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I am learning so much about the nature of boys from my piano lessons with seven-year-old Matthew. 

At first, it may seem to an observer that Matthew is easily distracted, often outspoken, and possibly disinterested in piano. However, after several weeks of lessons, I see the situation a little differently.

Tonight, I introduced the slur (Unit 3 of Time to Begin from the Music Tree Series).

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“Do you know what this curved line means?” I asked.

“No!” said Matthew, boldly.

“It means to play things smoothly – like this,” I said as I demonstrated a connected melody.

Wiggling on the bench next to me, Matthew instantly began playing loudly in the bass register of the piano, cutting off my more delicate melody.  Instead of stopping him or suggesting that his playing was loud or interruptive, I let him play. 

I recognized after just a second of hearing him play that he was experiencing this new concept of smooth playing.  He heard me define and demonstrate it – now he needed to experience it.  Imagine the learning that would not have taken place had I cut him off abruptly!

“Can you demonstrate something that is not smooth and connected?” I prodded.

Relating a new concept to what it is not is always helpful in the learning process.  Instantly, Matthew began playing – with both hands.

“What do you call that?” I asked.

I wanted to encourage him to name this opposite style himself rather than me enforcing a foreign name such as “staccato.”

“Crime,” he said with big eyes.

“I guess it might sound like crime,” I responded.  You can never expect the path that true imagination takes!

“We could call it disconnected or – popcorn!” I said, catching myself introducing a foreign word.

Seven-year-olds can relate to popcorn, though this analogy still required a demonstration before he agreed.  Once Matthew understood the concept of the slur and experienced what it felt like to play in a smooth and connected style, the next few pieces came easily.

I have also learned that Matthew loves rhythm and it comes very naturally to him.  To encourage rhythm study in lessons, I created a series of rhythm pattern cards in triple and duple meter.  I let Matthew choose 8-12 cards each week to arrange in any order. 

Tonight, he was confident enough in his rhythm reading that he performed a series of four patterns while I read a contrasting series of four patterns.  This is his favorite way to end our lessons each week!

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