What Pianists Know

I grew up taking piano lessons. My mother, a college music teacher before her marriage, made sure of that. I didn't care much for it, and gave it a lot less attention than my free throw technique. Tristesse . I wish I had believed my teachers who told me I'd regret my laziness. Still, I learned some things, not only about music but about life. I suppose musicians who play other instruments have learned similar lessons. One of them is: Look ahead . You can't play the piano if you have to stop to pay attention to each note or chord. That's what you do before you know the piece; once you know it, every moment rushes forward to what's coming. It's a good life lesson. Enjoy the moment, for sure. But moments rush by as fast as a Chopin trill. Each moment needs to lean into the next. Another lesson is: These days, I retain enough skill to accompany a liturgy or play a hymn. And I always apply a lesson my mother taught me: No matter how tangled up you get, no matter how many notes you miss, keep playing .Especially if others are depending on you to lead them, keep playing . There are names for pianists who are paralyzed by errors: Unemployed and amateur come to mind. Again, a life lesson. Errors don't come as rapidly or abundantly as moments, but errors are plenty plentiful. If you stop to wallow in them, your life grinds to a halt. Confess them; correct them; repent. And move ahead. There's a sweet final chord waiting for you at the end. You don't want to stop before you get there.