So, let’s say we are starting a new piece. It is big and long and we want to “get our head around it.” One way to start, of course, might be to listen to a recording or watch it on Youtube. Oh, the internet! Beware the soul-wrenching juxtapositions our browsers may churn up, in which (for example) Sviatoslav Richter appears in the search results right below a synthesizer “tutorial” consisting of flashing neon lights hurtling across the screen—followed by a performance in a dim church basement by an overdressed six-year-old, flawless, that both takes our breath away and makes us want to quit piano on the spot.
YES to finding our voices and encouraging our students to find theirs