Tony Cicoria came to study with me as an adult with a deeply driven desire to play the piano works of great composers. His initiation through self instruction produced the desire to learn more formally and thus began a teaching relationship of over 10 years. During this time we added technical foundation elements and most importantly, we worked on developing musical literacy. We read through all of the Bach 2 and 3 part Inventions, and then moved on to the Well Tempered Clavier. At the same time we read through a volume of sonatinas. As this foundation of reading progressed, a Chopin Mazurka was added each week. When the sonatina volume was completed, we began a rotation of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven sonatas.
This process developed as an outcome of my personal exploration after years of study with international artists and in world renowned schools. I found myself asking questions that had never been asked, and providing a gradual sequence of study to fill in gaps that I perceived in my own training. As outcomes accrued, I began to apply the same principles to my work with students who were interested in the classics. What developed became noticeably unique and valuable in comparison to traditional instruction methods and expectations.
Challenges to this approach might be, “How well has this material been covered? Is it valid to move on if works studied have not been polished and perfected?” My mother, who taught piano in our home throughout her life, who studied with world renowned pianists, who gave a town hall recital in Philadelphia, would most definitely have asked these questions and yet have been intrigued with the process. The fact is that to date, I have not engaged in dialogue with other teachers, but rather with my students. I have developed this approach based on their feedback and my logic in approaching them with an attitude to help them become more independent.
The space to err is critical to the healthy formation of artistic voice. Within the performing arts, this is not generally acknowledged. In parenting, we know that excessive attention to perfect outcomes will lead to distortions and insecurity in our children that are difficult to undo later in life. It is not surprising that the outcome of insecurity is evidenced in many people who play the piano as an avocation. Amateurs who work with classical piano literature are most often reticent to play for a new teacher, describing pianistic inadequacies, rather than abilities that have led them to seek further guidance. Insecurity is far more often evident than a healthy assessment of aptitude and skill acquired to date. The teaching tradition, as I have encountered it, embraces no middle ground where students are encouraged toward progressive outcomes while allowing for errors that are a natural part of the growth process.
When a child learns to read, we give them much exposure, factoring in errors as part of the process. We correct as we go, with encouragement and demonstration. If we were to tell them that they could not go on to another book until they perfectly mastered the first book and recited it to an audience, they might never want to engage in the process. This type of pressure in the early stages of growth is not healthy. When a child first learns to eat, there is a mess and gradually the child incorporates more refined movements and manners. Hand writing may at first be a difficult and the outcomes may be distorted, but with time and practice, refinement occurs.
Playing the piano is a highly complex endeavor. Many aspects of a mere technical nature must be processed vertically before one can move horizontally across the page. The integration of expression is a complex issue. Some people naturally begin to play with expression – to hear the music while processing information from the page. Some do not. The way in which different elements emerge is unique to the individual and not necessarily an indication of the general term, “talent”. The developmental process is long and varied. The fact is that for many, simply acquiring the notes is a “full up” proposition, leaving little mental space for other awareness. As reading skill develops, there begins to be space for more recognition. Supporting a student through this process is critical to the formation of confidence and ownership. Their desired outcomes may not be our own. Working from an artistic perspective, adapting and creating alternatives for the people with whom I interact, is for me, the heart of the creative process in teaching; to discover what people want from the activity, to support them in finding their desired outcomes, to educate them as fully as desired in interpretive nuance.
Allowing room for students to make decisions and incorporate new skill areas determines the progression of the work. Learning how to manage these elements and pacing their accomplishment, also requires guidance. Expression can be integrated with some beginning technical information and practice. Advanced stages of development address sensitivities of expressive nuance that are intuited. From my perspective, the element of speed comes as a result of overall growth and should be an area of artistic fascination, becoming part of the larger scheme of expression. When the teaching process is approached in this manner, the development process begins to reflect general educational psychology and curriculum design elements.
One of the distinguishing features of students who are taught in this way is that they gradually become able to:
- Describe musical choices from an educated perspective
- Appreciate what they can do
- Approach a new piece on their own
- Articulate educated reasons for musical choices regarding the use of pedaling, fingering, or beat structure as a consideration in shaping
- Assess performances based on indications in the score
So many students that I have encountered over the years have been influenced by teaching habits that have been passed on for generations, without questioning. Much of it is abusive to artistic sensitivity, sensitivities which are critical to the expression of the art form. Many exposed to this style of teaching have accepted it as an integral part of the art form. My perspective is that the profession has not yet caught up with the general societal uncovering of subtle abuses – how they work in our relationships and the outcomes they produce. We need to reassess processes and desired outcomes and perhaps in so doing, we will create an audience of people who engage in exploration of this art form without fear of humiliation and judgment; who can feel comfortable choosing to engage in part or all of a particular work, who can play with the music or from memory and find the same validity of engagement as those who read Shakespeare find without performing in a play on stage.
Literacy at the Piano 