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·An oasis for adult piano students and musicians with hearing loss·
If you’ve ever listened to a professional recording of a piece you’ve been working on for your piano lessons—say Yuja Wang playing Schumann’s The Smuggler—you’ve probably been struck by the obvious: she plays the piece way faster than you do. She plays some passages so fast you can barely process the notes and rhythms in order to see how you should practice.
Looking down at our hands as we play breaks the continuity of reading, prevents us from looking ahead, and undermines concentration. Yet for many piano students, even some who have played for years, it is a frequent temptation.
When I went back to the piano in my early 40s, I decided not to mention my hearing loss to my new teacher, Stephen.
What makes the contrapuntal music of Bach difficult for adult piano students?