More than fifteen years ago, we published an article encouraging parents to think carefully before selecting music lessons for their children. Whether searching for piano lessons, violin lessons, cello lessons, or flute lessons in Issaquah, our new location in Scottsdale, or elsewhere, families often discover that educational quality is difficult to compare through websites, advertisements, or pricing alone.

Today, that message is perhaps more important than ever.

Modern families are constantly presented with promises of faster results, simplified learning systems, and revolutionary approaches that claim to remove many of the traditional challenges associated with learning an instrument. In an age where nearly everything can be delivered instantly, it is understandable that parents might wonder whether music education can also be accelerated. Research on expertise development consistently demonstrates that mastery emerges through years of guided practice rather than quick shortcuts.

While teaching methods continue to evolve and technology offers many useful tools, certain realities of human development have not changed. Learning to play the piano, violin, cello, flute, or any other instrument remains a complex process involving physical coordination, listening skills, concentration, memory, artistic imagination, and emotional expression. These abilities cannot simply be downloaded, automated, or bypassed. They are developed gradually through thoughtful instruction and consistent practice.

The good news is that this journey can be enormously rewarding.

Serious Learning and Enjoyment Go Hand in Hand

One of the most persistent myths surrounding music education is the belief that students must choose between having fun and receiving serious instruction. In reality, the best teachers accomplish both simultaneously.

Students should enjoy coming to lessons. They should look forward to seeing their teacher, sharing their accomplishments, discovering new repertoire, and participating in performances and musical events. Effective teachers use stories, humor, imaginative descriptions, movement, games, and creative demonstrations to make learning engaging and memorable. Children naturally learn best when they are interested and emotionally invested.

At the same time, meaningful learning requires substance. A lesson should offer more than momentary entertainment. The most satisfying musical experiences occur when students realize they can do something today that they could not do a few weeks or months earlier. Whether it is producing a beautiful tone, mastering a difficult passage, performing at a recital, or discovering a deeper understanding of a favorite piece, genuine accomplishment creates a form of enjoyment that is both powerful and lasting.

The goal is not to make music easy. The goal is to make the process of learning music inspiring.

Education Versus Entertainment

Parents should also understand the distinction between educational outcomes and entertainment outcomes.

A student may be able to perform a simple tune after only a few lessons through a highly simplified approach. While such experiences can be encouraging and motivating, they should not be confused with the development of genuine musicianship.

Reading music fluently, understanding rhythm, developing a beautiful tone, acquiring healthy technique, listening critically, understanding musical structure, and learning to communicate artistic ideas are all skills that require thoughtful and systematic instruction. These skills are not always visible during the earliest stages of study, but they become increasingly important as students advance.

True music education seeks to build lasting ability rather than simply creating the appearance of progress. The difference may not always be obvious during the first few months, but over the course of several years the results become unmistakable.

Choosing a Music Teacher: Why the Teacher Matters More Than the Method

Parents often ask which method book or curriculum is best.

While quality educational materials are certainly important, experienced teachers understand that no book teaches a student. Teachers teach students. Books are simply tools.

A skilled instructor can adapt material to the individual needs of each student. They can identify technical problems before they become habits. They know when to challenge, when to encourage, when to review, and when to move forward. They can explain the same concept in several different ways until the student truly understands.

Throughout the history of music education, great teachers have used many different methods. What they shared was not a particular book or curriculum. They shared expertise, experience, and the ability to guide students toward success.

For this reason, parents should focus less on finding a particular method and more on finding a teacher whose knowledge, accomplishments, and personality inspire confidence.

Technique Is the Foundation of Artistic Freedom

Whether studying piano, violin, cello, flute, or another instrument, technique serves as the bridge between musical imagination and musical expression.

Many beginning students possess natural musical instincts. They can hear beautiful sounds in their minds and respond emotionally to music. However, transforming those artistic impulses into actual performance requires a physical skill set that must be carefully developed.

Good technique is not about rigid exercises or mechanical playing. Quite the opposite. Proper technique allows students to play comfortably, efficiently, and expressively. It enables freedom.

Unfortunately, poor habits formed during the early years of study can be difficult to correct later. Tension, inefficient movement, poor posture, and incorrect hand positions often limit a student’s ability to progress, regardless of how much talent they possess.

This is why experienced teachers devote so much attention to fundamentals. They understand that artistic freedom is built upon a technical foundation.

Choose Teachers Who Have Walked the Path

When selecting a music teacher, parents should consider both educational background and practical experience.

Teachers who have pursued advanced study in the performance of their instrument have spent years confronting the very challenges their students will eventually face. They understand not only how music works in theory, but also how it feels to prepare performances, overcome technical difficulties, manage performance anxiety, and communicate artistic ideas to an audience.

Students benefit enormously from studying with teachers who actively demonstrate the skills they teach.

This does not mean every student must aspire to become a professional musician. Most will not, nor should that be the expectation. However, students deserve instruction from individuals who possess genuine expertise in the discipline they are teaching.

A violin student deserves a qualified violin teacher. A pianist deserves a qualified piano teacher. A flutist deserves a qualified flute teacher.

This principle seems obvious, yet it remains surprisingly important.

Choosing the Right Instrument for Music Lessons

Not every family is immediately able to purchase an acoustic instrument, and that is perfectly understandable. Nevertheless, parents should understand the role that quality instruments play in a student’s development.

Music is fundamentally an art of sound. Students learn not only by moving their hands and fingers, but by listening. The instrument itself becomes part of the educational process.

For pianists, a responsive acoustic piano offers tonal possibilities and physical feedback that even excellent digital instruments can only approximate. For string players, properly adjusted instruments allow students to develop good habits and produce a more satisfying sound. In every discipline, quality equipment makes learning easier, more enjoyable, and ultimately more successful.

An expensive instrument is not required for meaningful progress. However, an instrument that responds well and encourages proper technique is one of the most valuable educational investments a family can make.

What Progress Really Looks Like in Music Education

Music education is a long-term endeavor.

Parents sometimes ask how long it takes to become proficient on an instrument. The honest answer is that meaningful musical growth continues throughout a lifetime. Even professional musicians continue learning, refining, and discovering new ideas.

At the same time, progress should not be viewed as a distant destination. Students experience countless small victories along the way. Each new skill mastered, each successful performance, each challenge overcome contributes to a growing sense of confidence and accomplishment.

These weekly and monthly successes accumulate over time into something remarkable.

At the Chopin Academy of Music, we regularly witness students develop genuine artistry during their middle-school years. By the end of high school, many dedicated students perform with a level of musical maturity and technical proficiency that would have seemed unimaginable when they first began lessons as young children.

Such growth does not happen overnight. It is the result of years of thoughtful instruction, consistent effort, family support, and a willingness to embrace the learning process.

Looking Beyond the Next Recital

While recitals, examinations, festivals, competitions, and awards are valuable milestones, they are not the ultimate purpose of music education.

The deeper goal is to cultivate skills and habits that enrich a student’s entire life.

Music teaches discipline, patience, concentration, resilience, creativity, and emotional expression. It provides a source of beauty and meaning that remains available long after specific performances have been forgotten. Some students will pursue music professionally. Many will become doctors, engineers, teachers, business leaders, scientists, or parents. Yet the lessons learned through serious musical study continue to influence how they think, work, and engage with the world.

In an age increasingly characterized by promises of faster, easier, and simpler results, we remain convinced of an enduring truth: anything truly worthwhile requires time, effort, and expert guidance.

Music is no exception.

And that is precisely why it is so valuable.

The post Why There Are No Shortcuts in Music Education appeared first on Chopin Academy of Music.

When families search for piano lessons in Issaquah or Scottsdale, they often focus on the teacher, the program, or the schedule. And that is certainly important. But there is another factor just as crucial to a student’s success: the instrument itself.

At the Chopin Academy of Music, we regularly work with students transitioning from home practice instruments to major concert stages. One of the biggest differences between casual study and serious musical growth is the quality and responsiveness of the piano a student practices on every day.

A piano isn’t simply a tool; it’s a partner in artistry. The touch, tone, and responsiveness of the piano you practice on every day directly influence how a student learns to play, to listen, and ultimately, to express music.

Why Concert Instruments Are So Challenging

Whether studying in our Issaquah location near Seattle or through our expanding Scottsdale programs, students encounter a wide variety of instruments throughout their musical development. Learning to adapt to different piano actions, tones, and acoustics is part of becoming a mature musician. However, students consistently progress more efficiently when their home instrument encourages proper technique rather than limiting it.

Students often discover that performing on a concert grand feels entirely different from practicing at home, and to a parent they can sound very, very different on the stage. Even advanced pianists can be caught off guard by how heavy the action of a fine (or not so fine) concert instrument feels beneath their fingers. There are several reasons for this:

• Even respected halls don’t always have perfect instruments. Many concert pianos have decades of history—what technicians affectionately call “city miles.” Though well-maintained or even rebuilt, time and constant use change how they respond.
• Each concert piano is voiced for its own purpose. Some are bright and penetrating to project over a full orchestra; others are intentionally muted for chamber or vocal work. A pianist must constantly adapt.
• Neglect is common. Many otherwise fine instruments are stored in overly dry halls, exposed to sunlight, or inadequately serviced. Without regular maintenance, even the best pianos lose sensitivity and depth.

So when a young performer finally sits down at one of these instruments, it’s no surprise that it feels foreign—especially if their home piano is light, uneven, or digital. Part of a pianist’s skill set is being able to quickly size up an instrument and adapt on the spot. Still, optimizing a student’s at-home practice situation can be an extremely important part of the equation.

Why Digital Keyboards Don’t Prepare You for the Real Thing

Digital keyboards are convenient, space-saving, and affordable, but they create long-term challenges. In our experience, students who practice exclusively on digital instruments often learn to play with fingers only, never developing the use of arm weight—the fundamental technique that produces tone, color, and contrast on acoustic pianos.

When such students encounter a grand piano, they struggle to project sound or control dynamics. Their tone becomes flat and non-projecting, and no amount of practice on a digital keyboard can replace the tactile feedback of felt hammers, a concert-length lever action, a tension-weighted damper pedal, and soundboard resonance.

A good acoustic piano, on the other hand, trains strength, coordination, and musical sensitivity—skills that carry naturally to the concert stage.

This is one reason families seeking high-level piano lessons in Issaquah and Scottsdale often begin upgrading from entry-level keyboards to acoustic pianos as students advance.

The Problem with Upright Pianos

Even quality vertical pianos can limit a student’s growth. Their actions are inherently lighter and shallower than grands, and with age they lose regulation and tonal balance. The sound grows bright and uneven; keys feel unpredictable; repetition is unwieldy.

This inconsistency forces students to compensate with finger pressure rather than whole-arm motion, resulting in tension and restricted expression. Over time, the instrument itself becomes a barrier to progress.

Building a Better Practice Environment

If you’ve already taken the time and effort to seek out the best piano lessons in Issaquah, you’ve done your research. You’ve found expert faculty, performance opportunities, and an inspiring community. But there’s still one vital question to ask:

Is there more you can do to help your child reach their full potential?

The answer begins at home—with the piano itself.

• Get the best piano you can afford. Reputable brands like Steinway, Yamaha, Kawai, Baldwin, and Mason & Hamlin have earned their reputations through decades of craftsmanship and consistency. At our Issaquah and Scottsdale programs, students frequently encounter professional-quality instruments during masterclasses, recitals, and performance opportunities, making familiarity with a responsive acoustic piano increasingly important as study becomes more advanced.
• Keep your piano voiced and regulated.
  • Regulation ensures every key feels uniform and responsive.
  • Voicing adjusts the shape and density of hammer felts where they strike the strings. Over time, these felts harden and deform, producing harsh tone and limited dynamic range. Proper voicing restores balance and allows a pianist to shape sound—from the softest whisper to the fullest fortissimo.
  • Regular tuning is also key to preserving piano longevity and ensuring tone stays pleasing. Twice a year is recommended for students who practice an hour or more per day. Once per year is a minimum, even if a piano sees less use, ensuring the strings are able to move easily between friction points.
• Heavier and slightly muted is better than light and loud. In the home, pianos naturally sound louder than in concert spaces. A slightly “voiced down” instrument encourages healthy arm use and projection, preparing students for the larger halls where sound must travel.

The “Wait and See” Trap

Many parents say,

“We want to wait and see if my child is really interested before investing in a good piano.”

It’s an understandable sentiment—but one that often leads to missed opportunity. The early years of piano study are when the foundation for proper touch, tone, and technique is formed. Waiting too long can have lasting consequences.

Here’s why the “wait and see” approach rarely works:

• It reinforces poor technique. Students practicing on light keyboards or neglected uprights develop “finger-only” playing habits that are extremely difficult to correct later.
• Critical growth years are lost. By the time a parent commits—often when a child is 13 to 15—schoolwork, sports, and other activities limit practice time. The crucial window for technical development has passed.
• A better piano sustains interest. A responsive, rich-sounding instrument rewards effort and keeps motivation alive. Students stay interested because the piano itself feels inspiring.
• Inferior instruments cause frustration. Sticking keys, squeaky pedals, and uneven tones make it hard to enjoy playing. It’s often not the child’s lack of interest—it’s the piano’s lack of cooperation.
• Delaying often costs more. Parents end up buying twice: first an inadequate instrument, then the one the student really needed. Investing early saves money and years of frustration.
• Confidence comes from control. When a young pianist hears beautiful sound emerge from their own playing, it builds pride and emotional connection—fueling long-term commitment to the instrument.

Rather than waiting to see if a child will be interested, providing a proper piano helps create that very interest.

Buying Smart: Why a Reputable Dealer Matters

A piano purchase is both a musical and financial investment—and, like any investment, it requires informed guidance. Unfortunately, online marketplaces and classified ads are full of pianos that appear fine on the surface but hide costly problems beneath.

Common pitfalls include:

• Gray market pianos—instruments built for climates abroad (especially in Asia) that warp or crack in North American conditions.
• Worn or unstable parts, such as compacted felts, cracked soundboards, or loose tuning pins.
• Structural instability, affecting the case, pedals, or action regulation.

Before purchasing any used piano, always consult a Registered Piano Technician (RPT) certified by the Piano Technicians Guild (www.ptg.org).

At the Chopin Academy of Music, your primary instructor can also advise you on reputable local dealers, technicians, and piano models suitable for your level and goals. We’ve learned from experience—sometimes the hard way—that professional advice makes all the difference.

The Long View

A fine piano isn’t a luxury—it’s the foundation for lasting musical growth. The right instrument cultivates control, expression, and confidence in ways that no digital keyboard or aging upright can match. Many of the finest made instruments collect dust in the drawing rooms of many Northwest elite homes. However, they should really be put to use in the home of a young learner who will benefit from a great piano.

In a vibrant musical community like Issaquah—filled with recitals, competitions, and concert opportunities—owning a responsive, well-maintained piano bridges the gap between home practice and the concert stage.

Families investing in quality music education often discover that the right piano can dramatically influence motivation, confidence, and long-term progress. Whether a student is beginning lessons in Issaquah, preparing for advanced study in Scottsdale, or pursuing serious classical piano training elsewhere, a responsive acoustic instrument remains one of the most important foundations for success.

The post Keys to Success: Why Your Piano Matters appeared first on Chopin Academy of Music.

At the Chopin Academy of Music, we strive to inspire our students to achieve their fullest potential, and part of that process means seeing and hearing the best musicians in action. After all, how can you know what’s truly possible on your instrument unless you witness a professional, in-the-moment performance? Music lessons and student recitals alone cannot convey the depth of artistry that we, as musicians, strive to achieve. That is why attending live classical music events is not just a luxury—it’s a necessity.

Classical Music is an Endangered Species

It’s alarming to consider, but classical music, in many ways, is endangered. Unlike other forms of entertainment, it requires tremendous support—not just financial backing but also live attendance. Government funding is minimal, and without listeners filling concert halls, classical music simply cannot survive. While technology has made music more accessible than ever, recordings and online streaming platforms like YouTube or Spotify can never replicate the unique energy, emotion, and nuance of a live performance.

Music is a living art. It depends on an active relationship between performers and listeners, which can only exist when you’re sitting in the audience, witnessing it unfold before your eyes and ears. The question is not just about supporting the music financially, but showing up, being present, and participating as an engaged listener.

A Symbiotic Relationship: Performer and Listener

Classical music cannot exist in a vacuum. It relies on a symbiotic relationship between performers, audiences, and the greater artistic community. True artistry doesn’t happen for personal gain or glory, but as a shared experience. It’s not enough to perform for awards or college applications. What gives music its meaning is community support—whether that’s supporting a peer, attending performances, or celebrating those at the top of their field. Without live participation, classical music risks becoming a selfish, isolated activity—far from the communal experience it was meant to be.

Since COVID, we’ve noticed an alarming trend: concert attendance is way down. People have become more insular, more private, seemingly satisfied with online activities from the comfort of their homes. But this trend must change. The COVID pandemic itself was devastating to live music events, with nearly two years during which very little happened. Imagine that—an entire discipline or art form can simply vanish because it ceases to exist. That is how fragile classical music is. If we don’t return to live events, the fabric of our cultural society will slowly unravel. What’s left behind if we cease to actively support and attend live music performances? The truth is that nothing can replace the experience of being there—to hear the rise and fall of a pianist’s dynamics or to feel the swell of a live orchestra. The future of classical music depends on us, and on you.

We know attending live events can be inconvenient. For our students and families in Issaquah and Sammamish, the idea of crossing Lake Washington and traveling to Seattle for a concert can feel like an added burden. Then, there’s homework, sports, and extracurricular activities—things that seem to pile up and leave little time for the arts. But we need to ask ourselves, can anything truly substitute for the experience of attending live music? Classical music is irreplaceable, and as busy as we all are, it’s important to remember that art and music deserve a place in our schedules too.

Last weekend’s Seattle International Piano Competition—an event that was created specifically to inspire our students—saw a disappointingly low turnout from the Chopin Academy of Music community. Only about 3% of our students attended. How often do we get to hear the world’s next generation of piano greats in one place, right in our city? The SIPC was a rare opportunity to witness something truly exceptional, and many missed out. We hope that moving forward, our students will take advantage of such opportunities, not just for personal enjoyment but as a commitment to the art of classical music and to their own growth as musicians.

We invite you, our students and families, to make attending live classical music events a priority. Whether it’s a concert at Benaroya Hall or a piano recital here in the city, it’s time to step outside of our routines and support the very art form that inspires us all. Together, we can keep classical music alive for generations to come.

The post Live Classical Music — Vital to Your Musical Education appeared first on Chopin Academy of Music.

We are excited to announce the launch of the new Chopin Academy of Music (CAM) website portal, designed to make your musical journey smoother and more organized than ever before. Whether you’re a student from Issaquah, Sammamish, or beyond, this portal is your one-stop resource for managing your lessons, staying on top of your schedule, and accessing important information.

Our new portal, powered by the TeachWorks platform, offers a range of features that will enhance your learning experience and keep you connected with your instructors. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the key tools available to you:

1. Easy Access to Lesson Notes

Say goodbye to forgotten assignments and unclear practice instructions. With the CAM website portal, you can access detailed lesson notes for each of your lessons, and all registered children. Your instructor will provide feedback, practice suggestions, and any other important details you need to work on between sessions. This feature ensures that you always know exactly what to focus on, helping you make the most of your practice time. You will also receive them in an email after each lesson has concluded.

2. Comprehensive Calendar

Keeping track of your lesson schedule has never been easier. The portal includes a comprehensive calendar that shows all your upcoming lessons, events, and important dates. Whether you’re planning around school activities in Issaquah or family commitments in Sammamish, you can view and manage your schedule with ease. You’ll also receive reminders to help you stay on top of your commitments.

3. Seamless Communication

Need to get in touch with your instructor or the CAM administrative team? The portal provides a simple way to reach us with any questions or concerns. Whether it’s a last-minute schedule change or a question about your lesson materials, we’re just a few clicks away.

4. Centralized Resources

The portal is more than just a scheduling tool—it’s a hub for all your music education needs. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be rolling out additional features that will include practice resources, video tutorials, and more. This centralized approach ensures that everything you need is right at your fingertips, whether you’re at home in Sammamish or on the go in Issaquah.

5. Future Enhancements

We’re committed to making the CAM website portal a powerful tool for our students and their families. In upcoming blog posts, we’ll be outlining even more features, such as automated billing, detailed progress reports, and other tools to support your musical journey. Stay tuned for more information on how the portal can help you succeed.

How to Get Started

Getting started with the new CAM website portal is easy. Simply log in using the credentials provided by our administrative team, and you’ll have immediate access to all the tools and resources available. If you have any questions or need assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out to us through the portal’s communication feature. And if you never received your invitation, ping us! We are here to help you in introducing the new CAM website portal.

For our students in Issaquah and Sammamish, this portal is designed to fit seamlessly into your busy lives, making it easier to balance your musical education with other activities. We’re confident that this new system will provide you with the organization and support you need to excel in your studies.

Ready to explore the new CAM website portal? Log in today and take advantage of all the great features we’ve put in place to help you succeed. We’re excited to embark on this new chapter of music education with you!

If you need further assistance accessing or activating your portal, write to issaquah@chopinacademy.com.

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Nestled in the heart of Issaquah, the Chopin Academy of Music has been a cornerstone of our community for over 20 years. For those of us who call Issaquah and Sammamish home, it’s no secret that our region is brimming with young talent. At our school, we’ve had the pleasure of nurturing that talent, helping students discover not just the technical skills of playing an instrument but also a deep, lasting love for classical music.

Classical music study isn’t just about learning to play an instrument—it’s about so much more. The discipline, patience, and critical thinking required to master a piece by Beethoven or Chopin go beyond the music room. Our students develop skills that help them excel in school, sports, and even in their personal lives. They learn the value of hard work and the joy of achieving something truly beautiful through perseverance.

Take the story of Beethoven himself. His father pushed him hard, sometimes too hard, to master the piano. But it was Beethoven’s resilience and eventual love for music that led him to create some of the most iconic compositions in history. His journey shows us that even if the path isn’t always easy, the rewards of sticking with music despite seemingly insurmountable adversity are incredible.

Another great example is Glenn Gould, the Canadian pianist famous for his interpretations of Bach. Gould was introduced to the piano by his mother at a very young age. Interestingly, he didn’t always enjoy the traditional aspects of music study. However, his unique approach and dedication to the art allowed him to develop a style all his own, demonstrating how discipline and creativity can go hand in hand.

And then there’s Sergei Rachmaninoff, who had a bit of a rocky start. As a young student, he struggled with staying focused and almost gave up on music. But with some encouragement from his cousin, a pianist himself, Rachmaninoff rediscovered his passion. His story is a wonderful reminder that sometimes, all it takes is a bit of support and persistence to reignite a love for music.

Here at Chopin Academy of Music, serving Issaquah and Sammamish, we’ve seen similar transformations in our students. Over the years, we’ve witnessed countless young musicians grow from reluctant beginners into confident performers on the world’s most iconic stages who truly love what they do. Our students don’t just learn to play an instrument; they learn to appreciate the beauty of classical music and the satisfaction that comes from mastering a challenging piece.

The success of our students is a reflection of the strong foundation we’ve built over the past two decades. The skills they gain—discipline, focus, and a love for learning—serve them well, whether they choose to pursue music professionally or take these lessons into other areas of their lives.

Issaquah and Sammamish have always been areas rich in talent, and we’re proud to be a regional leader in cultivating a love of music in our students. The Chopin Academy of Music is more than just a school—it’s a place where young musicians come to grow, learn, and find their passion. We’re excited to continue our journey of inspiring the next generation of musicians and seeing where their love of music takes them.

The post Discovering the Joy of Classical Music appeared first on Chopin Academy of Music.

First is “practice”. Admittedly, this is not a very descriptive term for the work that a student needs to perform at the keyboard or on an instrument. In French, they do not even use this word to describe what is done daily in the practice booth. In that country, they use the term répétition. Take out l’accent aigu, and you know exactly what that word means.

Let’s break it down a little more.

During a practice session, the bulk of activity when working on etudes and musical works is to break it down into important fragments and repeat, hopefully using a variety of different techniques (rhythms, accents, hands separate, etc.) to help drill and even-out the passages. Usually, we focus on the hardest parts in the piece.

Repeating a whole piece from beginning to end does not constitute practice! We’ll contrast that activity with the term, playing. As implied, playing the piano or the violin is fun! It certainly serves a purpose, especially during certain phases of learning a difficult piece. However, playing is hardly the same thing as practicing. Naturally, a beginner will get some benefit from playing through a piece or song over and over, because generally, those exercises are already short, and therefore ripe for repeating in its form. Breaking pieces up into their most difficult components is something more intermediate students learn how to do. Still, a beginner should get accustomed to the idea of playing fragments, even if the song is only two lines long.

As a general observation, we see that almost always a student will sit down to practice their instrument and will start at the beginning. The practice session almost becomes a hypnotic, yet mindless activity of starting at the beginning and playing through, struggling with the hard parts (usually slowing in those places that give the most challenge), and playing more sloppily at the end, if they make it that far at all. This is inevitable because, unconsciously, the student is really practicing the beginning! Isn’t it, by definition, repeating, when a student encounters a very difficult passage, gets stuck, and goes back to the beginning? That’s why the beginning gets better and the middle and end are much slower to shape up to good form (if they ever do, until a student changes their habits).

For our students in Issaquah and Sammamish, practice needs to be conscious. I always encourage my students to start not by putting their hands over the keys, but first trying to remember what they did the previous day during their practice session and ask questions. What worked? What didn’t? What did I neglect that may need more time today? How might I approach the hard bits in a different way this time? What are the hardest places in this sonata?

Now that we have defined what practice is, we can move on to the next, more difficult term…

Slow seems like a simple enough term. However, when observing students in lessons (and after being told over fifty times that most of the practice should be SLOW), they can’t seem to play slowly. I ask them, “Okay, not too bad! Now, can you play that section again here slower?”.

Inevitably, the student repeats the passage at the same, mostly fast speed. “Slower!” I repeat. Same speed. I then clap to demonstrate the new speed, which happens to be just slightly over 50% of the original speed the student attempted.

The young pupil looks back at me wide-eyed. “You mean, you want me to play that slow?!”

Yes. Slow means slow. In other words, we mean significantly slower than the original attempt. Usually, the student tries, and somehow plays worse than they did when struggling near performance tempo. How is this possible?

In short, it proves the student did not play at any different speed at home over the week. Always the same speed. Always starting from the beginning. Naturally, progress can still be made, but it will be slower. This creates a curious, but verifiable paradigm.

Fast playing = slow improvement.

Slow practice = faster improvement.

And we, as teachers, struggle to painfully try to correct the many mistakes that have been reinforced from weeks of fast playing from the beginning of the piece. Usually the student has not changed the fingering that we, as teachers, noted on the score during the past four weeks. And why would they change those fingerings anyway? That’s because it’s impossible to make measured improvement while addressing little detailed corrections at near-full speed without first breaking down a passage. First, one must identify the issues requiring correction. Then, the student needs to play a small fragment, slowly, carefully observing the issues.

At this point, we must also be wary of the wrong-wrong-wrong-wrong-right-move on! trap. Reduce the number of incorrect repetitions, and maximize the correct ones. Often doing a tricky passage five times perfect in a row (or more!) is the track to conquering difficult spots.

Furthermore, practicing (sorry, I meant playing, here) only at top, or near-top speed results in physical tension. It is only natural that as we play through a piece with musical intension and commitment, like in a performance, we add more muscular tension each time. Also, if anyone asks anything of a student outside of starting from the beginning, such as, I don’t know, “start in measure 17”, or “play left hand only over here at this slow speed”, or any number of permutations, a student finds it nearly impossible on first attempts to do those things. That’s because these are the things one should be doing at home during a practice session. Then how might we deal with the stress and distraction of live performance in front of an audience? Exercising these practice strategies and repeating in a multitude of ways makes us more flexible and resilient under stress. If something goes slightly wrong on stage and we haven’t practiced that particular passage on its own inside and out slowly, then we are most likely going to do what we’ve been trained to do — go back and start from the beginning. Uh-oh.

Now, what benefit does slow playing do for us? Before we can answer this, we must identify one more thing that slow practice is not — it is not sleepy, inattentive, or altering of the musical ideas. Slow means not only aware, but hyper-awareness of what one does at the instrument. That means everything from monitoring one’s posture, to imitating the musical text accurately with good fingering, to listening more carefully to the sound, and many more concepts. When one drives along the freeway at 75 mph, it’s nearly impossible to see the dime on the side of the road. That’s what is required of the young musician. Often, when we get students from Issaquah and Sammamish to play slow, they might be able to do so, but their playing becomes lethargic or lacks the same musical intensity as when they play fast. The same musical things (articulation, fingerings, dynamics, intensity of attack, etc) need to be there, and the awareness needs to be perhaps even higher than fast playing.

Learning the art of slow, fragmented repetition allows us to more immediately correct the issues we have and to better translate our ideas into music effectively. It allows us to reduce physical tension and play more at ease, because we learn how to analyze and use the minimum tension necessary to execute difficult passages.

Fast-only playing induces stress. Stress is a fight-or-flight mechanism we all have. It may not be intense like an actual life-or-death situation, but it is essentially the same physical response. This physical response promotes physical tension. It reduces higher brain function to allow muscles to take over. Aren’t we all amazed when a young learner suddenly realizes that they can play through a piece without the music? Usually that means that passive memory has set in driven by the same stress mechanism, which is rarely good. That further entrenches the student into a beginning-to-end concrete-like execution that means disaster if there is a momentary derailing. (Active memorization is a topic for another time…)

Most students do not know what it is like to play with the minimum necessary tension, because they only have experienced the elevated stress of going fast. Naturally, this feeling is still fun. That’s why we like roller-coasters and watching high-speed chases in movies. Still, those roller-coasters rely on engineers who carefully measure safety and mechanical tolerances, and those films are highly choreographed and require tedious planning and frame-by-frame manipulation.

When we repeat slowly, we can put greater attention into all the aspects of playing a piece of music. We know the piece far more deeply. We learn how to play with more physical ease, and we also learn how to gain greater confidence, poise, and resilience under pressure. It’s not difficult to find lots of discussion about the merits of slow practice (here is an article).

Progress happens at home. During lessons, we point out the areas that need improvement, and remedies for them, while educating on what practice really is. Parents at home can gently reinforce when their child starts from the beginning and plays through a piece three times and calls it done. “Didn’t your teacher ask you to slow down?”

Yes. Yes, we did.

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As teachers, we spend between 30 minutes to an hour once per week with each student individually. That averages to half a percent of each student’s total weekly time. Parents naturally want us to inspire our students to the best of our capability, but limited by time we can only do so much.

All of us spent many hours weekly as students (and continue to this day) listening carefully to the masterworks we play and love. How else can we glimpse what is possible and grow in understanding? It is no different than asking someone who has never seen a high-rise to build one, even if they have some basic instruction on how to do it. Through carefully listening, sometimes with the musical score in front of us, or just watching a performer, we absorb far more than can be imparted during a weekly lesson, and be inspired to kindle passion we did not know was there.

Live performances are the best, but today we have more access to great recordings (for free!) than at any time in our history. These days, we can do it almost anywhere and at any time. We have YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and countless other platforms. We only need to look. Ask your primary instructor for some ideas on who to seek out to seek out.

Make a New Year’s Resolution to make listening to classical music something you do each day.

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