Just Pushing Buttons

There is something on my mind. Something that I have spoken to my students about off and on throughout my years of teaching.

Piano. It's an easy instrument to play, right?? All you do is follow the instructions, push the right keys, and BAM! You are a pianist.

Are you really, though? My students will probably all tell you the same thing. NO! Because they know that playing piano is ever so much more than just pushing the right buttons!! I'm probably offending some readers by calling the keys "buttons". By calling the keys "buttons", I am egregiously simplifying this beautiful instrument. That is the net that so many people who don't understand the piano fall into. Making it much simpler than it really is.

Let's talk multi-tasking. Did you know that at any given moment one of my students is playing the piano, they are processing at LEAST 5 different thoughts PER NOTE?? I say at least, because it's usually more. They have to think about how they touch the note, what position their hand is in, how long to hold the note, how loud or soft to play the note, what position their whole body is in while they are playing the note, is there pedaling with the note,... And that is just for one note. Depending on the level of the piece they are playing, there are anywhere from 50 to thousands of notes. Do you know how much brain power that requires? Sometimes it's exhausting to say the least. And all of these thoughts are for the purpose of getting just the right tone quality.

If you push a piano key down in different ways, it will sound different. Try it. Push any key down straight and hard. It will have a harsh, sharp tone quality. Push it down slow and soft. It will have a soft, wispy tone quality. Try something trickier. Push the key down with a firm finger, but relaxed hand and arm. Let the weight of your arm drop into the key, but let your wrist absorb some of the shock. It should have a more rich, warm quality to the tone. This technique takes hours of practice and focus just to get it right with every single note.

I could go on and on and ON about the complexities of playing piano, but I won't. For now, anyway :)

Maybe next time I'll rant about dynamics. Or maybe more about technique. But do me a favor and go give your friend or child who is studying piano a pat on the back. They are tackling a very intimidating challenge!