Expression — What You Sense, What I Sense; Holistique Pianism (14)

I’ve always taught in a fairly relaxed, open way,

saying, “You can play however you like,”

so most students probably feel free

to enjoy things in their own way.

But sometimes there are moments of,

“Wait… what was that?”

that almost make me fall off my chair.

(laugh)

The real question comes

when I sense,

“Ah… they might need a little help here.”

I never quite knew

how to guide without interrupting what was already happening

in those moments.

But that, too, has begun to resolve.

Instead of telling them something,

I ask,

“How did that feel just now?”

or“

What were you thinking while you were playing?”

When I was first asked these questions myself,

I remember tilting my head for a second.

Nothing came out.

I panicked.

I was sure I must have been thinking something,

even if I couldn’t say what.

As I slowly began to understand

what those questions were really getting at,

a large shift started to take place.

Until then,

I used to assume that, since I was the one teaching,

what I thought might matter.

Of course, what I notice as a teacher still matters.

But even more important

is what the person playing actually sensed.

When I began to work this way,

students would sometimes say things

very different from what I had in mind.

And when that one thing was resolved,

other things often shifted together.

Or perhaps something new seemed to open up for them,

and they then noticed on their ownt

he very thing I had been about to point out.

What amazes me is something else.

Even without having learned any of it before,

somehow they were already doing it.

While playing,

it feels as if they are absorbing at oncethe notes,

the places on the keyboard,

the meaning — everything —

directly from the score.

It creates a quiet atmosphere of unspoken certainty.

At times, I can almost sense a quiet confidence emerging,

as if they are thinking,“

Maybe I can do this after all,”

even before they’ve been taught.

The effect of simply sensing

what one is sensing,

as it is.