Getting to the Other Side

Now that my two kids are grown and leading amazing lives of their own, one of my greatest joys is to visit them and just hang out for a while. I was privileged to do this last weekend when I traveled to South Dakota to stay with my 24-year-old daughter for a couple of days.

In addition to doing lots of fun things like drawing/painting while watching movies and going for long walks, we also did a lot of visiting. She told me about how she is really getting into running as a hobby. She is far more athletic than I ever was or likely will be. 

She told me that she thought I might enjoy getting into running as well. After a small fit of hysterical laughter, I said that I have never really enjoyed the burning lungs, sore muscles, and overall pain of jogging. The little time I have spent running in my life (think high school track here) was not, for the most part, a pleasant experience..

She laughed and said that she felt that way at first too, but when she got past all of that it was really fun. By getting past it, she meant that with adequate training over the course of time, she was able to run longer and faster. Most of all, she no longer gets the burning lungs, pounding heart, aching muscles that I have always associated with the sport (torture) of running. 

She spoke in glowing terms of the high that runners get and explained that there is a time that you just feel like you are flying along the ground. You don’t have any discomfort, and the whole experience is a great way to clear your mind. 

For a moment, I just stared at her in disbelief. I really had no idea that such a place existed. 

Even though I ran short distances in track back in high school, I never really trained enough to get past the unpleasant feelings I have come to associate with running.

The idea that anyone could find it relaxing and enjoyable came as a bit of a shock. At first, I thought that anyone who thought running could be anything but miserable, probably needed to have their head examined.

As this week has worn on, I started to think about the possibility of being able to cross over to a more pleasant place once enough skill (any skill) has been developed. When you have only existed in a place where you are doing the hard work and seeing none of the reward, it is difficult to keep going.

This got me thinking about how many piano students from teachers of all stripes seem to quit somewhere around level 3 in the method books. If they start playing piano as young children, part of it seems to coincide with the time they hit middle school and are encountering changes on multiple levels. Dealing with more change with no clear idea of the pay off is something most middle schoolers are likely to sign up for. 

Because I always found piano to be an escape of sorts, I never really encountered this in my own playing. I am kind of an exception in this way. You can ask my dad who just wanted to watch the weather report (he farmed and sprayed crops for a living–the weather is pretty critical to what you are going to do tomorrow) and could barely get me to stop playing long enough to hear the forecast.

Most students get used to the lower levels of playing piano when the pieces are short and teach relatively basic concepts. Playing these through from beginning to end a few times is usually sufficient to make at least a decent showing at your next lesson.

Students get used to this being what piano practice is. They never stop to consider that the practice routine is going to need to change as the challenges change and get larger. Training to run a short distance is much different from training to run a long distance.

However, when you go to cross the bridge between beginner and intermediate music, something changes. You need to acquire a whole new set of skills such as reading notes off the staff (otherwise known as ledger line notes), counting more sophisticated rhythms, and playing pieces that can be in a variety of styles. Previous pieces used to teach beginner concepts can often be said to be lacking a bit in the variety of notes necessary to recognize, rhythms to be counted, and in overall style.

Many piano students, particularly those of middle school age, are just not equipped to deal with this change without some extra help. They suddenly find themselves on a bridge they didn’t know existed headed to a place that they know nothing about. For all they know, they have stepped on a ledge into an abyss. 

Much like my shock at my daughter’s revelation about there being a better place in running after you conquer the unpleasantness of strengthening your heart, lungs, and muscles, many piano students would be surprised to learn that a truly amazing place exists on the other side of the Level 3 bridge.

When you have conquered note-reading, counting, and built the muscles/technique needed to play more advanced music, you will be in a place that you didn’t realize existed, and playing more difficult music will actually be fun. 

I think that by doing a better job of mapping out the piano journey, explaining that there is a bridge about Level 3, and describing some of the joys to be found on the other side, students might be more inclined to stay on the journey.

It is true in many areas of life that what got you here won’t get you there. It is true in running and it is true in learning to play the piano. Learning the basics is not the same as learning and practicing the next level of skills. The skills are different, the practice routine needs to change, but the destination (if one can ever really call it that–the journey never really ends) is totally worth it. 

If more students understood the journey they have embarked on and realized that it would take them to some amazing places on the other side of the bridge, they might be much more willing to stick with some of the tough stuff over the long haul.

If this sounds like what happened to you, and you didn’t quite make it over that bridge when you were younger, I would love to work with you. There is every chance that you can still make it over the bridge and experience the joy of your fingers flying over the keys while playing music that you truly love. 

One of the things I do best is identifying what skills you may be missing or just needing to tweak in order to reach your goals. No two people learn in exactly the same way. I live for finding ways to help each student learn. Learning is never a strictly linear process. I absolutely love figuring out what is holding each student back and then giving them the tools they need to succeed. Watching their faces as they begin to see over that bridge never gets old. 

Don’t you want to find out what is on the other side? Join my studio, and I will help you get there!