Did the title Lies to Pianists grab your attention? Is it click bait as they say? Well, Lies to Children is an expression I came across in the Terry Pratchett Book ‘The Science of Discworld’. For those of you unfamiliar with it, the basic premise is this:
Any explanation of an observed phenomenon which, while not 100% scientifically accurate, is simple enough, and just accurate enough, to convey the beginnings of understanding to anyone who is new to the subject. There is always time to fill them in on the fine detail further down the road. This describes the sort of axioms we tell young children when they are beginning to get to grips with science.
Clearly, these are not ‘naughty’ lies. There is no intent to do harm or mislead. Rather they are intended to prime the mind with just enough information to get started. However, and this is the key here, it is vital that we are later taught the remainder otherwise we will continue to be limited by the narrow scope of the ‘lie’.
How often do we see Lies to Children?
Lies to Children are perhaps more prevalent than you might think. I have for example noticed that Scuba Diving teaching is littered with these lies. There is a good reason they are there. By following them, you are much less likely to do yourself any damage. However, as you gain experience, you understand how and when to ignore them. Equally, many years on piano groups has shown me that this phenomenon also seems prevalent in the piano playing world.
What lies to pianists do we see?
There was an article recently in Pianist Magazine (Issue 115) entitled ‘Don’t believe everything you hear’. In this article, the author went through a number of things we are taught as pianists. All of these I think fit very nicely into the lies to pianists bucket. Amongst the items put forward as things that aren’t necessarily universal truths were:
- We should maintain Legato by the fingers and not reliance on the pedal
- The correct use of the thumb is to pass it under the fingers
- You must always practice slowly even when you want to play fast
Some that I would add to the list are:
- We acquire Technique best outside of repertoire (Scales, Hanon etc.)
- You shouldn’t learn music that is ‘too difficult for you’
- All music is based on scales
I could add many more things to the list. Each of these rules is understandable. If we are at an early stage in our learning journey, then they are almost certainly the safest ways to work for the majority of us.
Why should we carefully reconsider such things?
That said, the reason I think this topic deserves some consideration is that if becoming a great pianist was as simple as these lies to pianists would suggest, then the world would be awash with excellent pianists. However, clearly it isn’t the case. In terms of ‘world class’ pianists, Stephen Hough said in an interview that there are maybe 200 in the world at any one point in time. Let’s be kind and think that there are say 20 times that number who are good enough but didn’t get the breaks. When we consider that perhaps as many as 21 million Americans (never mind Europe, China, Latin America etc.) play piano, this still doesn’t even represent a statistically significant number.
Is challenging them subversive?
So, perhaps there is more to becoming good at piano than following these simple precepts without question? You might think so, however, what I find odd though is that there is a tendency to gang up on anybody trying to express an opinion going against these ideas. Recently, I dared to suggest that rather than ‘practice slowly with a metronome’ to master the left hand in Revolutionary Étude, it might be better to take it in groups of notes at closer to the intended tempo and practice by leaving gaps between each group. This saw me ‘ejected’ I guess for ‘subversion’.
Equally, I have seen many very ‘spicy’ online debates where someone has tried to suggest that passing the thumb under the 3rd finger is not a good solution if you are trying to play fast. Rather you should shift your hand to the right. From the threads that often follow, you might be forgiven for thinking that whoever expressed this opinion is nothing short of a heretic!
When I was a child, I thought as a child …
To me, we should not be afraid of leaving behind these concepts as we grow into piano. For example, what revolutionized things for me was getting better at practising. Sure, slowly and hands separately are always a first line of attack for music that I find challenging. However, these are just starting points. They cannot fix every issue.
So, next time you see:
- Slow it right down
- You cannot learn that piece yet
- All great pianists had to spend hours a day doing Hanon exercises
don’t be afraid to look for alternatives. If you’re familiar with my YouTube channel, you’ll know I’ve released lots of videos with different practice tips I have picked up. My main starting point usually is Graham Fitch’s eBook Series on Practising Piano or indeed his Online Academy (which gives you access to these as well as lots of other content). Combine this with Josh Wright Piano TV and I think you’ll be surprised how many different ways there are of tackling things rather than just sticking to the basic lies to pianists. Often, it is joining the dots between different pieces of advice and then adapting them to the piece we are learning.
Don’t forget to check back for my next article that will explore to what extent the statement that you should not learn things that are too difficult might be one such lie.
