Here is a wonderful quote from Chopin from the book Chopin: Pianist and Teacher, as read by pianist and teacher Josh Wright:
The passage was written by a student of Chopin's, regarding how Chopin responded when the student felt inhibited and unable to express himself (herself?) at the piano.
"With what delicate nuances of behavior he adapts his own being with that of another," they write about Chopin as a teacher.
"Imagine you're at the conservatoire," Chopin said, "listening to the most beautiful performance in the world. Make yourself want to hear it, and then you'll hear yourself playing it, right here."
He told the student, "I see that timidity and lack of self-confidence form a kind of armor around you, but through this armor I perceive something else that you don't always dare to express, and so you deprive us all."
"Be bold and confident in your own powers and strengths."
There are good reminders, from the mouth of the great Chopin himself.
I'm going to try that little "conservatoire" exercise tonight, imagining that the music I'm playing is actually music I'm overhearing, and that it's being played by a world-class pianist. Will it make a difference? We'll see!
Comments